PTSD
by Anonnonnonnonymous
Summary: A story that follows Owen's, Claire's, Zach's, and Gray's post traumatic stress disorder from their experiences in Jurassic World. Fluff, but it does get a little heavy at times. I don't own Jurassic World or any of it's characters.
1. Chapter 1: The Chair

**Chapter 1**

 **For some reason, during the movie, I couldn't stop thinking about the major PTSD the main characters, especially the kids, would have after an experience like this.**

Claire did a pretty good job at keeping it together during the whole incident in Jurassic World, even though she nearly lost it multiple times. She finally lost it after her and Owen had left the emergency shelter. The two were driven into a small Costa Rican town, and they found a hotel to stay in since most flights in and out of Costa Rica were full of people either leaving or coming to see family members.

It was when Owen opened the door of their hotel room, and both of them were inside, that she completely lost it. She started just crying at first, and Owen held her in his strong arms. This calmer her a little, but only delayed the inevitable. She soon began crying so much that she could barely breath.

"Claire, Claire listen to me," Owen said, "please Claire. You need to breath. Take deep breaths. In and out,"

He began slowly breathing in and out, and soon she began copying his breathing. She slowly calmed down as he held her tightly to his chest as the two laid on the bed of their hotel room. Slowly but surely, she fell asleep.

Owen had gotten up after he was positive that Claire was asleep. He was eager to get in the shower and clean the gasoline, sweat, blood, and anything else that might be on him from that horrid island. He stripped himself and got in the shower. That's when he broke down.

He was ready to break down when they made it to the hotel, but Claire beat him to it. The two of them couldn't break down at the same time. He had experienced people who had gone through terrible things. Friends from the navy; they always needed someone strong to get through an episode. Owen couldn't leave her, she needed him.

So he broke down in the shower. Being a soldier, he knew how to keep himself from totally breaking down, so he was aware. The tears streamed from his eyes and mixed with the hot water from the shower. He would've screamed if Claire wasn't asleep. Screaming was his outlet, that's how he got rid of most of his pain.

After he calmed himself down, he got out of the shower, and looked around the bathroom. He only had one set of clothes, and there was no way he was getting into those again. He just wrapped a towel around his waist and went back into the main room. Claire was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. He slowly laid down beside her and close his eyes.

When he closed his eyes, he saw the bottom of the truck. He opened them and immediately jumped out of the bed. He looked down, afraid he had woken Claire, but he hadn't. He tried laying down again, but he had the same result. Then he looked around the room and saw an armchair in the corner. He sighed, picked up the phone, and called for room service.

They brought him up the extra blankets and pillows he had asked for. When they looked at his half naked form questionably, he told them he had been at Jurassic World. They left without another word. He put the pillows on the chair, and draped the blanket over himself as he sat down. He closed his eyes. He was fine for now, but there was no telling what the future would bring.

He didn't fall asleep. He couldn't fall asleep in fear of nightmares. He had been through this type of experience before, in the navy, and the nightmares were terrible. Now that he had been through another traumatic experience, he could only imagine what his mind had in store for him as those memories were brought forward as long with those of the last thirty-six hours.

Owen sat up late, watching the news on mute with closed captions turned on. They, of course, were talking about the Jurassic World incident. On occasion, some security footage would be shown. He was in most of the shots, some alone with the raptors, others with Claire and the boys. He say in silence when Claire woke up screaming.

Owen jumped up out of the chair, and over to the bed. He quickly wrapped his arms around Claire, and pulled her hair close to his bare chest.

"You were dead! You and the boys, you were dead! Everyone was dead! And I was next!" she cried. He pulled her closer, slowly stroking her hair.

"Shhhh-sh-sh. It's okay. It's okay. We're all okay," he whispered, "when you're ready, I think you should shower. Wash off anything from that place,"

She nodded into his chest, not quite ready to leave him yet. She didn't know if she would ever be ready to leave him. He made her feel safe, secure, and free to break down in front of him. He was great at comforting her. She was not going to be able to part with him.

* * *

The boys were not doing much better.

Their parents had taken them back home shortly after picking them up at the shelter. The boys refused to speak about anything that had happened in the park. When they returned home, both of them just sat on the couch, Zach with his arm wrapped tightly around Gray. When they had gotten home, Zach's girlfriend came running, but Zach refused to talk to her, he refused to talk to anyone.

Soon, Gray fell asleep, leaning against Zach. Zach picked up his younger brother, and brought him to his room. Zach left the room, leaving the door opened, and went into his own to lay down and stare at the ceiling. He was not going to go to sleep. After an experience like this, he knew what came hand in hand with sleep. Nightmares. He was waiting for Gray to wake up screaming.

Sure enough he did, a few hours later. At least he had gotten a few hours a peaceful sleep. Zach practically launched himself across the hall into his younger brother's room, and wrapped his arms around the hysteric boy.

"You're okay," he whispered softly.

"It ate us," Gray said, once he had calmed down a bit, "we were torn to bits in the gyrosphere,"

"Well we weren't," Zach said, "we made it out. We're okay,"

Outside the room, Karen and Scott listened to the boys. They hadn't heard anything from them before this, so the snippets they heard horrified them both.

"I'm calling Claire," Karen said, going back to her bedroom for her cell phone. She called Claire. After a few rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?" it was a male voice.

"Who's this?" Karen asked.

"Owen," Owen replied.

"Who?"

"The boys didn't say anything about me?" Owen sounded surprised. The boys had seemed fine on the island, but then again, after the adrenaline wears off, who knows what could happen.

"They haven't said anything," Karen said, almost in tears, "where's Claire?"

"The shower," Owen replied, "and-I-umm, saved the boys' lives," he said it in a non-cocky way. He said it in a sincere, informative way. He was not looking to brag, he was looking to inform.

"Thank you!" she cried, and burst out in tears, "the boys are not okay! Gray woke up screaming and now Zach and him are in there mumbling to each other,"

"Once they'll talk to you," Owen said, "take them to therapy. It's probably post traumatic stress disorder. You want to get on that fast, especially in kids,"

He hated that he could speak from experience. The things one experiences in the navy, or any branch of the armed forces, was not a good one. One thing commonly encountered was PTSD, but the fact that it was common didn't make it easier.

"Oh my god…" Karen whispered.

"OWEN!" Claire screamed from the shower. Owen shot up off the bed.

"Sorry, I've gotta go," Owen said, "remember what I said. Therapy,"

Karen nodded, "Okay, I will,"

Owen hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed before running into the bathroom. Claire was standing in front of the mirror, wrapped in a towel. She turned when he entered, and immediately ran to hug him. She needed to be in his strong embrace. She needed to feel safe.

* * *

Karen hung up her phone and looked at her husband. She began crying and he pulled her into a hug.

"Owen, the man who saved the boys, thinks they had PTSD," Karen said, sobbing.

"That makes sense," a tear fell from Scott's eye.

"He said get them in therapy as soon as they'll talk to us,"

"Again, that makes sense," Scott said.

In Gray's bedroom, Zach heard his parents talking. His mother had talked to Owen. He was aware that he had PTSD, but that didn't mean it affected him any less. Because he was aware though, he could think of ways to treat it. He thought that maybe if him and his brother talked to Owen, it might make things better.

"Gray, hey, Gray," Zach said softly, "if I get a hold of Owen, would you like to talk to him?"

Gray nodded earnestly. Zach was now determined. He got off the bed and went towards his parents' bedroom. He was going to get in contact with Owen, no matter what. His brother was going to talk to Owen. They were going to get through this.

 **I honestly was debating seeing Jurassic World because I have bad anxiety, and jump scares are the one thing I cannot handle. I finally decided to just go, and I'm so glad I did. Pratt made it much better, and you have no idea how many times I wrote Pratt instead of Owen when writing this chapter. I obviously changed it back, but I absolutely love Pratt. He's my fav.**

 **-Croc9400**


	2. Chapter 2: Dinosaurs in my head

**Chapter 2**

 **Well, this story got a MUCH bigger response than I was expecting. I posted it around midnight where I live, woke up with 73 emails! So thank you all who followed, and favorited, and reviewed, and read. It means a lot to me.**

 **I don't normally do this, but I would like to acknowledge one reviewer that really made me think. This review really got me thinking about something I hadn't thought about when writing the first chapter.**

 **Johijoha, a fanfiction member said, "I wondered the same thing about the PTSD. Weird that they never really dealt with that in any of the movies ... but then, it's not a very nice topic for a blockbuster movie. :P**

 **Poor Owen seems to become the support for everyone, how will he deal with that. I'm looking forward to more."**

 **What really got me was the second part. About Owen would handle being everyone's support, Johijoha, I just wanted to give you credit for that because I didn't think of it and I want to use it. So thank you very much.**

Claire's phone ran for the second time that night. She was sitting on the chair with Owen, both of them squished on their together, cuddling, watching the news now on a low volume. She looked over at it as it vibrated on the bed. She slowly got off Owen, who was now sleeping peacefully. Thankfully, he didn't wake when she untangled herself from him. He needed to cherish the nightmareless sleep while he still could.

She looked at the phone. Scott was calling her. She found that strange, but if he was having as hard a time with this as Karen was, then he needed her to answer. She answered the phone on the last ring.

"Hello?" it wasn't Scott, but it was still a male voice. It was Zach.

"Zach. Hi," Claire said, relaxing a bit.

"Is Owen there?" Zach asked. Claire looked over at sleeping Owen. He looked perfectly calm and serene, was it right to wake him up? Or tell Zach to call back later? She didn't know, then Zach spoke again.

"Gray really needs to talk to him," Zach said. Claire sighed. She looked over at Owen once more. He was still sleeping peacefully. She could wake him up now, and it would spare him a nightmare. Then again, she didn't know how much sleep she would be taking away from him. It could be an hour til his next nightmare, it could be five hours.

"Please, Aunt Clair," Zach pleaded. That pushed her over the edge. She walked over to Owen, and lightly shook him. He didn't budge. She shook him a little harder. Again, nothing. She put the phone down and shook him again.

"Owen. Owen, sweetie you need to wake up," Claire said. He groaned and stirred lightly. He opened his eyes a little, and looked at her.

"What?" he asked.

"It's Zach. He says Gray really needs to talk to you," Claire responded gesturing to the phone. Owen nodded and picked up the phone.

"Hello," Owen said.

"Owen thank god," Zach was whispering now, "thank you so much. Gray just woke up from a nightmare, said he wanted to talk to you. I think you make him feel safer than I do,"

"Sure thing kiddo," Owen pushed himself up all the way in his chair, "Zach, do you realize what's happening?"

"Yeah. It's post traumatic stress disorder," Zach said, "but just because I'm aware, doesn't mean that it affects me any less,"

"Yeah I know. I'm in the same boat," Owen said, "you two have gotta talk to your parents. They've gotta get you into therapy,"

"I know. I'm okay with that. Gray might not be," Zach said, "I'm gonna give you to him now,"

"Okay," Owen heard the phone being handed from one boy to the next.

"Owen!" the boy cried, "Owen please come see me!"

"Gray, Gray listen to me. You need to calm down," Owen said, "now Zach told me you had a nightmare,"

"I did," Gray squeaked.

"Do you wanna tell me about it?" Owen asked.

"It-it was when Zach and I were in the gyrosphere," Gray said, his cries more audible than before, "it ate us!"

"Well it didn't kiddo. You're alive. We're all alive," Owen said.

"Owen please come see me!" Gray cried, "there's a hotel near our house. You could stay there,"

"I will. I will, I will get there as soon as I can," Owen said, "now try to go back to sleep. Ask Zach to help you if you need it,"

"Okay," he said softly, "please come,"

"I will. I will don't worry," Owen reassured the child. He waited in silence until the boy hung up. Owen placed the phone back on the arm of the chair. Claire was looking at him attentively.

"We need to go up there," Owen said, "Gray is only ever going to talk to me or Zach. Maybe you,"

"I think there's a hotel by their house that I stayed in once," Claire said.

"I know. Gray told me," Owen said.

"I'll call the shelter in the morning," Claire said, "see if they can bring us some clothes,"

Owen nodded.

"Do you mind?" Claire asked nervously, gesturing to the chair.

"No, not at all," Owen said. Claire nodded and Owen lifted the blanket he was under. Claire climbed back under, and into his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled the blanket up to their necks. Claire rested her head on Owen's shoulder, and Owen rested his head on top of hers. She would be more comfortable on the bed, they both would, but Owen couldn't lay down. That was the first time in his life he had felt true terror. Not even when he had been in the pen with the raptors. He had confidence they wouldn't attack him. The I-Rex, she was nightmare began with him lying down, and he could not go back.

He figured that Claire knew that, and he appreciated her not saying anything about it. Even if she didn't know, he wasn't going to tell her, or Gray. Zach knew that Owen had PTSD, same as the rest of them, but Owen felt they had a silent agreement. Claire knew that Owen was going through the same thing, but Gray didn't. Owen needed to stay strong. He couldn't break down. Claire and Gray and maybe even Zach a little, they all looked to him to be the strong one. He could keep it up for now, but he didn't know how long it would last.

"I miss my raptors," he said softly. Claire nodded lightly. He didn't expect her to understand. She hadn't built up a relationship with any of the animals at the park. Although she cried when they were in the dying long-neck, that was probably about the strongest relationship she had. The only thing that may be stronger, no was stronger, was her fear bond with the I-Rex. Three of his raptors were dead. They were like his babies, and their deaths made him want to cry. Blue was the only one who remained, but she was wandering around the island with a T-Rex, who knows how long she would last.

A single tear fell from his eyes as he thought of his babies. He wiped it away quickly, before Claire saw. He didn't need Claire to see that, he needed to stay strong for her. He did miss he raptors though. He had developed a relationship with them; he felt almost empty without them. He remembered the last moment he had shared with Blue. She looked into his eyes, almost like a goodbye before following after the T-Rex. It was like losing a dog, a very vicious, killer dog.

* * *

Gray handed the phone back to Zach, and Zach snuck it back into the kitchen. His mother kept her phone by her bed, so he had to sneak into her room to get the number, and since his phone was somewhere on Isla Nublar, he had to get his father's phone from the kitchen. He left it plugged in on the counter next to his wallet and keys. Zach deleted the call to Claire, and plugged the phone back in before going back to his brother's room.

"Do you want me to stay?" Zach whispered. Gray nodded. Zach entered the room and closed the door. He sat on the bed next to his little brother. He wrapped his arms around the young boy.

"Owen's coming," Gray said softly. Zach nodded, but inside he was relieved. Owen was the one who could really help his little brother. The way he spoke on the phone reassured Zach so much.

"Zach, can we watch a movie?" Gray asked.

"Sure, what movie?" Zach asked.

"I don't know. A happy one," Gray replied. Zach nodded and got up from the bed. He went into his room. He got his laptop and two sets of headphones. He looked through his collection of movies. There were no happy ones. He went downstairs to the basement to their collections of movies from before they were even born. He looked and pulled The Sound of Music, Annie, and Back to the Future from the shelf before going back up to Gray's room.

"I brought a few," Zach said, sitting back down on the bed, "we can watch all of them, we can watch all of them. What do you want?"

"Can we watch The Sound of Music?" Gray asked quietly. Zach nodded and slipped the DVD into his laptop. He plugged in the headphones and handed a pair to Gray. The two sat, Zach's arm around Gray, and watched the movie.

About halfway through, Gray paused the movie and removed his headphones. Zach did the same, looking at his little brother.

"Zach," Gray said, "will you protect me?"

"Protect you from what?" Zach asked.

"The dinosaurs," Gray responded.

"I will protect you," Zach said, "but there is no reason to be scared. The Indominus Rex is dead. The only dinosaurs left alive at the Mosasaurus, the T-Rex, and Blue. All three of which saved our lives, _and_ are on an island very far away. There's nothing to worry about,"

"No. The dinosaurs in my head. Will you protect me from them?" Gray asked. Zach was speechless. The boy was asking him to protect him from his nightmares and PTSD. He couldn't do that, not even Owen could do that. Gray looked up at him. He needed to think of something to say fast. Zach looked Gray in the eye.

"If you believe that I will protect you from the dinosaurs in your head, then I will be there to protect you," Zach said. Gray nodded, and gave his older brother a hug. The boys put their headphones back on and continued watching the movie.

* * *

It was early the next morning, and Owen and Claire were on a flight up to Wisconsin. Claire was going to take Owen to see her nephews. They had gotten clothes from the shelter, and handed over their old clothes without argument. Although who would want them? Owen's were covered in gasoline, blood, sweat, and who knows what else. Claire's were torn and covered in sweat and dirt. Although, if they were washed, someone might at least take Owen's.

The armrest between their seats on the plane were up. Claire held Owen's hand, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Considering she had only her own in the last forty-eight hours and it had been rather fast, Owen's calmed her.

Owen was hold Claire's hand in one hand, and had his other wrapped around her, pulling her close to him. He knew it made her feel better to be so close to him. He had saved her life countless times in the last forty-eight hours, but the same could be said about him. She saved him from getting eaten by a little flying beast and an Indominus Rex but releasing none other an a T-Rex.

He sighed as he thought of the casualties caused. He knew if at least twenty five people who had died, and that was all he knew of. There would most definitely be more. Claire was going to get hit with waves of hate, complaints, paperwork, maybe even be arrested. She didn't immediately evacuate the island like he suggested, so most of these deaths were on her. If she had evacuated the island before the Indominus Rex crashed into the aviary, then there would be far less casualties. He would stick by her no matter what happened.

Claire was thinking the same things. She knew what was coming her way, she just hoped they gave her a chance to heal first, at least enough so she could concentrate effective. Since she was the most high-ranking worker from Jurassic World left, it was up to her to decide what to do. She honestly had no idea, and really hoped Owen would help her.

There were still three dinosaurs that she knew of left on the island. The Mosasaurus, the T-Rex, and Blue, the raptor, there could be more. What would she do with them? Let them live freely? There was no way on earth Owen would ever allow her to kill them, especially Blue. If she killed Blue, Owen would never forgive her. She could only think of one possible solution at the time, and it was a horrible one. She began crying, and of course, Owen noticed.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked urgently.

"I'm going to have to go back there," Claire said softly, "I'm going to have to go back to the island,"

"No. No you're not. No one's going to make you," Owen said reassuringly.

"No. I'm going to have to," Claire said, sobbing, "we can't just let dinosaurs run rampant on that island, and we can't just kill them!"

Owen smiled. She had changed so much in the last two days, for better and for worse. He wrapped both his arms around her, and pulled her in close. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Then I'll go with you," he whispered, "you will never be alone, Claire"

Claire nodded and buried her head into his chest. Owen stroked her hair as she cried. He didn't mind. She needed to let it out.

 **So that's it for this one. I spent a good three-four hours writing it so I hope you all enjoy! Next chapter should come out in the next few days!**

 **-Croc9400**


	3. Chapter 3: Moment of True Terror

**Chapter 3: Moment of True Terror**

 **So here I am again at almost eleven thirty at night because I have a healthy sleep schedule. I am starting the name the chapters because I thought of a great one for this one. The first is called The Chair, the second is The Dinosaurs in my Head, and this one is called Moment of True Terror.**

Owen pulled their rental car up in front of the Mitchell's house. Him and Claire got out, and looked at it. They had checked into the nearby hotel, and would go shopping later, but right now they needed to see the boys, especially Gray. Owen took Claire's hand and the two walked up the driveway. They rang the doorbell, and they heard footsteps running for the door. The door opened and Gray was standing there. He launched himself at Owen.

Owen caught the boy in his arms and pulled him into a hug. He felt tears coming from Gray's eyes falling onto his shirt. Claire stepped into the house, and Owen followed. Once inside, Owen placed Gray on the ground.

"Where's Zach?" Owen asked.

"My room. We're watching movies," Gray replied softly.

"How about you keep doing that," Owen said, "I need to talk to your parents, then I'll come talk to you,"

Gray nodded and ran back to his room where Zach was standing in the doorway. When he saw Claire and Owen coming down the hall, he ran and gave them both hugs.

"Mom and dad are in the kitchen," Zach said.

"Keep Gray occupied. You're doing good kid," Owen patted Zach on the back before heading into the kitchen. Karen and Scott stood there. Karen was on the phone and Scott was standing next to her. Both of them looked up when they entered the room. Scott went to greet them.

"Thank you so much for coming," Scott said. He gave Claire a hug and shook Owen's hand.

"Gray told you guys we were coming?" Claire asked hopefully.

"No," Scott said, disappointed, "Zach did. Karen's getting him set up with a therapist now,"

"I know this is probably an inappropriate time," Claire said, "but are you guys still getting the divorce?"

"No. We're going to hold off," Scott said, "it would be stupid to separate the boys at a time like this,"

"Well, you're not wrong," Owen said, and went towards the living room. Claire followed close behind. Scott stayed with Karen until she finished her phone call then the two joined them in the living room. Owen and Claire sat together on the couch while Karen and Scott sat on two separate armchairs. Owen exhaled.

"So I guess you guys want the whole story," Owen said. He had one arm wrapped around Claire, and his other hand intertwined with hers.

"Yeah!" Karen said urgently.

"Yes we would like the whole story," Scott said on top of Karen. Owen nodded and looked at Claire. She was already looking at him expectantly. He was going to have to tell the story.

"Well," Owen began, "it all started when Claire decided to drop by my bungalow. She asked me to come assess a new asset. I was like the dude when it came to dinosaur training and behavior. I trained raptors. After a bit of...arguing, I went. Turns out, the people in the lab decided to just go make a new dinosaur. A new highly intelligent hybrid dinosaur with at least five different species of dinosaur and modern animals alike. They also wouldn't tell me what was in it,"

"Why wouldn't they if they called you in to assess it?" Karen asked.

"I honestly have no idea. I thought the same thing," Owen responded, "anyway, I saw claw marks, on the side of the enclosure. We did a thermal scan and couldn't find it, so we thought maybe it had escape. So the security guard, a tech, and myself went in to investigate. Turns out she had set a trap. She was in there waiting for us. I was the only one who made it out alive,"

Karen and Scott looked horrified. Owen continued, "I went into the control room really mad because, well, I had just almost been eaten by a dinosaur. They had sent a group of soldiers in with non-lethal weapons to try and capture it. They failed. She had clawed out her tracker, and was lying in camouflage, waiting for them. I don't think any of them made it out,"

"That's when I ordered the evacuation to begin," Claire cut in. Owen looked at her, a little unsure, but she gave him a reassuring look, "but evacuating twenty-one thousand people from an island...it takes time. That's when I realized that Zach and Gray had run away. They were in the middle of the gyrosphere. Owen and I went out to look for them. We found the gyrosphere, but they weren't in it. Turns out the dinosaur, the Indominus Rex,"

"Which literally means untamable king," Owen cut in, "sorry. I just need to emphasize that this dinosaur was a bad idea,"

"Thank you, Owen," Claire said, "the I-Rex had chased them to a waterfall. They jumped,"

"Then, while looking for the boys, we found a field of dead Apatosaurus," Owen said, "that's when we found out how dangerous she was. She was killing for sport,"

"Turns out the boys had found the old park. They rigged a jeep to run, and they headed back to the main park," Claire said.

"Yeah and when we were in the original park, we were almost eaten by the I-Rex," Owen said, "then-then we sent a helicopter in with some heavy artillery guns. The I-Rex crashed into the aviary, along with the helicopter. Then all the pteradons got out and went to where everyone was. That was when we found the boys. We managed to escape the pteradons, but not without casualty.

"So the entire time, there had been this guy, from the inGen who really isn't that important because he gets eaten by a raptor, but anyway. He wanted to try and control the I-Rex and _my_ raptors. He planned on sending the raptors after the I-Rex regardless of whether or not I helped, and there was no way I was leaving that man alone with my raptors,"

"So it's nighttime now. The boys and I, we watched from cameras in the truck as Owen, his friend Barry, some soldiers, and the four raptors went after the I-Rex," Claire said.

"And that's when we found out the I-Rex was part raptor," Owen said, "the raptors turned on us and the I-Rex escaped. We made it back to the main plaza. It was dark, and I-Rex and the three remaining raptors followed us there. We managed to hide, but Gray, he was almost taken by the beast. Then Claire. Claire released the freakin T-Rex to go up against the I-Rex. She saved us. We got away while they fought. Then, when the I-Rex had almost one, the one remaining raptor, the beta, Blue, came and attacked the I-Rex. It gave the T-Rex time to get up. Then they drove it to the edge of the island, and the Mosasaurus jumped from the water, and pulled it under,"

"Then the T-Rex left us," Claire said.

"Along with Blue, my last raptor," Owen said, disappointed. Karen had tears in her eyes. You could tell she was in shock. She glanced back towards the boys rooms, then back at Owen and Claire.

"Thank you so much!" she started crying again. Then there was a scream. It was Gray. Owen shot up off the couch and ran down the hall before anyone could even think of moving. He burst into the room to see Gray sobbing and Zach frantically trying to calm him down.

"You're fine, Gray. You're fine. I'm protecting you. Just remember I'm protecting you," Zach said. He had a hand in each of Gray's shoulders, and was looking the boy in the face. Gray was not looking back. He had his head turned to the side, and he was hysterically sobbing.

"What happened!?" Owen asked frantically.

"His belt loop got caught on the bedpost, and then he just screamed," Zach said.

"That's his moment of true terror," Owen said, "each of us is going to have one. Mine was when I was laying under the truck, I can't lay down without seeing it. Now, Gray. The Indominus had a claw on his shorts so when he felt the tugging, he saw that moment,"

Owen pulled Gray into a hug. He felt good, being able to confide somewhat in Zach. Zach was old enough to understand, and was almost in the same situation he was. Zach couldn't break down because his brother needed to see him strong. Gray needed to know Zach was going to be able to protect him, and Gray seeing Zach break down would only break Gray down more. The same went for if any of them saw him break down. It could break them so much they wouldn't have a will to go on.

Zach thought. What was his moment of true terror? Was it when they were in the gyrosphere? He was almost in a lying down position, and he had lied down already. It couldn't be that. That's when he thought he had felt the most scared.

Zach retreated from Gray's room and went into his own. He looked around for something to do, then he decided to take a shower. He hadn't taken one since before they left for the island, and he wanted to get everything off of him. He went into his bathroom and turned on the shower. He stripped himself and opened the door. That's when it happened.

When he stepped in the shower; when he touched the water, he saw it. His moment of true terror. When him and Gray were underwater, hiding from the Indominus. That explained why he didn't feel the terror. He was too busy worrying about where he would get oxygen from. He didn't know whether the Indominus would jump. He had dragged his brother further under the water. He didn't know if they were going to drown or be eaten. There only seemed to be two options during that situation, and the blurry look of terror on his brother's face was something he couldn't shake from his mind.

He jumped back in terror, holding in his scream. Gray needed Owen now. He fell onto the ground against the bathroom wall. The shower was still running in front of him. He watched it as it splashed up and onto the floor, threatening to come closer. Tears began running down his face. He heard footsteps running towards his bathroom. He grabbed the hand towel, and quickly covered his junk as Claire burst into the room.

"Zach?" she bent down and pulled the boy into a hug, "are you alright?"

He shook his head and cried into his aunt's shoulder. He was so glad Gray wasn't there to see this.

"You're mom said you're going to the therapist in a half hour," Claire said softly, "do you think you'll be ready?"

Zach nodded, but continued to sob to his aunt. It would be better for him if Owen was there. He could talk to him about the moment of true terror thing, but Gray needed Owen more than Zach did. Zach just needed somebody, and Claire was somebody.

* * *

Gray finally calmed down enough for Owen to get through to him. Owen was sitting in a beanbag chair, and Gray was lying on his bed. For a long time, Gray had been in Owen's lap, but Gray said he was ready to go back to his bed so him and Owen could talk.

"So, Gray, would you like to tell me what just happened?" Owen asked. He knew what had just happened, but to heal, it would be best for Gray to say it outloud. Gray shook his head quickly.

"There are dinosaurs in my head," Gray said, "Zach said that if I believe that he'll protect me, he will,"

"And he will," Owen said, "and the same goes for me. And your Aunt Claire. If you believe we'll protect you, then we will,"

"But I do! And you all get eaten! Then I get eaten too!" Gray cried. Owen was slightly confused. He knew Zach had only told the boy this a little while ago, how had he already known it not to be true.

"Gray, when was the last time you slept?" Owen asked curiously.

"Before I called you," Gray sniffled. Owen paled. The boy was having daydreams, and not good ones. Gray's mind was playing tricks on him. Everything the boy looked at, his mind associated it with that damn island. This was not going to be easy.

"Gray, can I ask you another question?" Owen asked. Gray nodded, "would you be comfortable talking to a therapist along with me?"

Gray shook his head. Owen held his sigh. This was all up to him. He had to do this on his own. He had to put this boy back together while trying to put himself back together, and helping Claire and Zach put themselves back together.

"Okay. Is it okay if I'm your therapist? Can I help get rid of the dinosaurs in your head?" Owen asked.

"Yes," Gray said. Owen exhaled in relief. At least he could help the boy heal. It was a long process, and it wasn't going to be an easy one, but it was something.

* * *

Zach and his dad pulled up to the therapist's office. They both stepped out and into the waiting room. Scott signed in and was given a clipboard of paperwork for Zach to fill out. He sat down next to him and handed him the clipboard. He had been filling out his own paperwork at the doctor's office for the last few years. He thought that maybe this once his dad do it, but he didn't. Even though Owen and Claire explained what happened to his parents, he didn't think they still fully understood the severity of the situation he was in.

He finished the paperwork just as the doctor came out for him.

"Are you Zach Mitchell?" she asked. He nodded.

"I'm Dr. Wilma Alison, but you can call me Wilma" she said, extending a hand. Zach shook it.

"Zach," he said softly. He handed her the clipboard.

"Would you like to come back to my office?" she asked.

"Sure," it's not like he really had a choice. They weren't going to sit in the middle of the waiting room and have a conversation about the horrors of Jurassic World. He got up and followed her into the back of the office. He saw small expressions of shock on her face as she read through the paperwork. He had written out his problems, or at least the ones that he knew of, on there, so he had gone in expecting that.

They entered the room. It was painted soothing colors. Blues, greens, purples. Nothing too bright, yet nothing to dull. There was a soothing green couch in one corner of the room, and Wilma's desk was across from it. She gestured to the couch, and Zach sat down. It was a very comfortable couch, he could fall asleep on the couch, if he was going to fall asleep, but he promised himself he wouldn't. Wilma sat at her desk and quickly typed some things into her laptop. She then turned and faced Zach.

"You can lay down if you want," she said. Zach shook his head. If he laid down, he probably would fall asleep. He hadn't slept in over forty-eight hours, so he was exhausted.

"So. You said you were on Jurassic World," she said, "that must've been hard,"

"It wasn't easy," Zach couldn't help saying it sarcastically.

"And you think you have PTSD?" she asked.

"I know I have PTSD," Zach replied, "Wilma, I can't shower! I can't touch water without seeing my moment of true terror, or whatever,"

"You're what?" she asked.

"It's what my aunt's boyfriend, Owen calls it. It's the moment on the island where you felt the most terror," he said.

"What was yours?" she asked, pulling that string. It wasn't the direction she normally went in with a patient, but it was a start.

"It was…" he thought of it again. The terror again began flowing through his body. He needed to stop it. He needed to stop it now. He wiped the thought from his mind, "I can't. I'm sorry, I can't think of it,"

"It's okay. We'll get there," Wilma said, "how about Owen? What was his moment of true terror?"

"When he was under the truck. Have you've heard the stories of Jurassic World?" Zach asked.

"Enough for context. I would've watched more if I had known that someone who was at the middle of that incident was coming in," she said.

"Well, right after the dinosaur escaped, Owen had to hide under a truck. The two people he was with were eaten. He had to hide under a truck, and cut the gasoline line and cover himself in gasoline to mask his scent. That was his moment of true terror. He can't lay down," Zach said, "and my little brother. He's got it much worse than me. He was almost dragged away and eaten by the Indominus. It had a hold on his shorts, and was going to drag him out. So earlier when his belt loop got caught on the bed, you can imagine what happened. He can't have his pants tugged, and my Aunt Claire, she hasn't experienced anything yet, not that I know of,"

"And what happens when you encounter whatever your trigger" she asked.

"You experience that moment again. You see it, and if you encounter it long enough, your nightmare comes true. She gets you," Zach said, "that happened to my brother,"

Tears began forming in Zach's eyes. He quickly tried to wipe them away, but it wasn't all that easy.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping his eyes.

"No, it's perfectly okay, Zach. You're doing really well for your first time. Just take your time. Take your time,"

Zach nodded and let it out. He began sobbing in the therapist's office. She gave him a box of tissues which he gratefully accepted. He just wished his brother, his aunt, and Owen were there with him.

* * *

"Thank you, for lending me some clothes, Karen," Claire said as she changed out of the donated clothes, "makes me feel a little better,"

"You're welcome," Karen smiled. Claire smiled back and stepped into the heels Karen was letting her borrow. She screamed and immediately stepped out of them. She fell onto the floor, and leaned against the wall. She began crying. She had experienced her trigger; she had found her moment of true terror. Karen gasped and ran from the room.

"OWEN! OWEN!" she shouted. Karen could barely comprehend what was happening around her, but she knew one thing. Owen was coming, and she needed him right now, more than ever.

 **About the divorce thing, I know it's out of place but I had to mention it. It was brought up in the movie once then it was overshadowed by dinosaur attacks, so it was kinda pointless, and I hate that. I need closure, so I made it myself, unless they're thinking of doing something like this in the sequel where the parents don't split because the boys need to be together. I'd be fine with that, but still. It seemed awkward and out of place. Until next time.**

 **-Croc9400**


	4. Chapter 4: Leave us Alone

**Chapter 4 Leave us Alone**

Owen was still sitting in Gray's room, talking to him about the dinosaurs in his head. Owen was doing most of the talking, but it was still something. Then he heard a scream and Karen yelling for him. He jumped up from the beanbag chair and placed his hands on Gray's shoulders.

"Gray, kiddo, I'll be right back. I just gotta go see what your mom needs," Owen said. Gray nodded and Owen ran out of the room. He met Karen at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happened?!" Owen asked frantically.

"I don't know! Claire just put on shoes and flipped out!" Karen cried.

"Shoes?! What kind of shoes?!" Owen asked.

"Heels!"

"Oh god," Owen ran past Karen and up the stairs. Claire had been wearing heels the entire time on the island, and when she was facing the T-Rex. She had so much trauma in those shoes. That was her moment of true terror. He burst into the master bedroom to see Claire curled up in a ball on the floor. He immediately bent down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him.

"You're okay, Claire. You're okay," Owen said softly, "you're okay. Just let it out,"

She began sobbing as she clung to him. Karen came running back into the room and watched her sister in horror. Owen slowly began calming her down. Karen had to admit, his presence calmed them all down, even her. Knowing that her boys had someone to rely on made her calm. Soon, Claire's breathing became steady, and she began to calm down.

"I think it's time we go back to the hotel," Owen said. Claire nodded and stood up. She held Owen's hand tightly and rested her head on his shoulder as the two walked out of the room. They walked down the stairs, and towards the front door. They stopped in Gray's room.

"Gray, Claire and I are going to go, will you be alright?" Owen asked. Gray nodded, "okay. Remember. I gave you my phone number. You and Zach can both call me. Okay?"

Gray nodded again and jumped off his bed. He ran and wrapped his arms around Owen. Claire let go of his hand, leaving both of them free to wrap around Gray. Gray looked up at him, and gave him a thumbs up. Owen returned it before taking Claire's hand once again. The two walked out of the house and to their car. Owen drove, but kept his hand firmly overtop of Claire's the entire time. They went through a McDonald's drive thru before heading back to the hotel.

Claire immediately went for the bed. She went and laid down on it, and Owen sat next to her. He could sit on the bed, but he could not lay down. He gave her her food and the two sat and ate in silence. Claire had picked up her phone, and began to check her email.

"Oh my god," she said, "I need to take my email address off that website,"

"Why?" Owen asked with a mouthful of cheeseburger. She handed him her phone. He began scrolling through her inbox. Her emails were either complaints or news casters, asking for interviews.

"This is terrible," he said, "you're going to need to answer these,"

"I know that's the worst part," Claire began crying, "I read one of them. This woman's son died during the pteranodon attack. I couldn't even imagine what she is feeling but the email. I don't think I've seen something so hateful in my life,"

"Okay. Okay. Listen, Claire. This is going to be okay. Here's what's gonna happen. You're not going to touch your phone, unless the boys or me calls. I am going to go to the store and get clothes and anything else we might need. Since most of our stuff is on the island. Are you okay if I leave you here?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," Claire said.

"Good. Just write your sizes down," he said, handing her the pen and pad from the hotel, "I'm going to use the bathroom,"

She nodded, taking the pen and pad. She began writing as Owen went to the bathroom. When he emerged, she handed him a folded up piece of paper. He gave her a kiss then the two sat for a moment, just in the comfort of each other's arms. Owen then pecked her on the forehead and left the room.

* * *

Zach and Scott walked in the front door of their house. His mother had been watching nervously in the kitchen, and came running when they came into the house. She hugged her son.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"Fine," Zach replied.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Zach walked into his room and slammed the door shut. They heard the click of the lock. He thought about what Dr. Alison had told him to do. He looked towards his bathroom. There was no way he could go that far. He sat at his desk and pulled a movie from the pile. She wanted him to try watching a movie that involved water. He decided to ease himself into it. He knew the newest X-Men movie had a scene where Logan drowned. He would start with that.

Just as the movie began there was a knock at his door. He took off his headphones and opened the door. Gray stood there holding a pair of headphones.

"I heard you watching a movie from my room," Gray said. Zach looked at him, confused. Then he looked back at his laptop and saw his headphones we're actually plugged in, "can I watch it with you?"

"It's X-Men," Zach replied.

"I don't care," Gray said. Zach nodded, stepping aside for his little brother to enter his room. He locked the door and pulled up the egg chair for Gray to sit in. He plugged both their headphones in and played the movie. He didn't make it through the first half hour before he passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

 _They were running, running, running. The Indominus Rex behind them. Gray was already slower than he was, so he had to slow down every few seconds to make sure Gray didn't fall too far behind. Then they made it to the waterfall. It was at least a hundred feet to the bottom, maybe more._

 _It was harder getting Gray to jump. Gray refused. The Indominus was closing in on them. He was going to have to drag his brother off the cliff. He grabbed Gray by the arm and pulled him, but it was too late._

 _He hit the water, holding only half the boys arm. He screamed and dropped it, letting it sink to the bottom. He swam towards the shore under the water, but then heard a huge splash behind him. There was enough force to push him up and out of the water. It threw him onto the shore. He looked up and screamed as he saw the Indominus' jaw closing in on him._

* * *

"Zach! Zach! ZACH!" Gray was shaking his older brother frantically. He had paused the movie a while ago. He had seen Zach fall asleep, but soon after he had begun muttering. Then moving. He had nearly knocked the computer off the desk, but Gray had managed to grab his hand. He was going to let his brother sleep peacefully because he could tell he hadn't slept since before they left for Jurassic World, but when he started screaming, Gray decided he needed to wake him up.

Zach finally woke up. He jumped out of the chair, his headphones still on his head. He stumbled back and they fell off his head. He fell onto the bed and looked at Gray.

"Owen gave me his number," Gray said, handing Zach the piece of paper. Zach took it in his shaking hand and went for the phone in the hallway.

"Could you give me a minute, Gray?" Zach asked. Gray nodded and walked back to his room, closing the door. Gray sighed as he went to his room. Owen and Zach didn't think he knew what was going on, but he did. He was a genius, he absolutely knew what was going on. They all had post traumatic stress disorder. He heard Zach tell Owen that being aware didn't make it any easier, and he was absolutely right. Just because he knew he had PTSD didn't make coping with it easier.

He knew his brother needed to talk to Owen. He wasn't sleep; he was scared to. Owen wasn't as well. The two people Gray needed the most weren't sleeping. That was understandable. They probably saw the dinosaurs that Gray saw when he was awake while they were asleep, like most people would. He was just different, and he knew that.

Zach locked his door as he shakily dialed the phone. He stopped before pressing call. Did he really need to bother Owen with something as silly as a dream? No. He didn't. It was a dream. He hit end and put the phone down on the dresser and went back to his desk to continue watching the movie.

* * *

Owen knocked on the hotel room door. He had too much in his hands to get the keycard from his pocket. Claire got off the bed and opened the door for him. He put all the bags down on the tiny counter that was already filled with hotel room appliances. The necessities like a coffee maker and a water boiler for tea. Super necessary.

"Thank you for putting your number on that sheet," Owen smiled, "even though I didn't need to call you,"

"Yeah when you mentioned that you might call, I wondered how you would," she smiled and began to help him unpack. He had gotten each of them a few outfits. Some snacks and some water, and a laptop.

"Why on earth did you buy a laptop?" Claire asked, "and cell phone chargers?"

"Well neither of us have ours," Owen responded, "and my laptop's back on the island. Plus, if I've going to answer a thousand emails, I'm doing it on a laptop, not a cell phone,"

"Oh Owen you don't have to do that. I can do it," Claire said. Owen turned around and laid a hand on her shoulder. He looked her in the eye.

"I'll do it," Owen said. He said it softly but sternly, in a way that made her want to melt into the floor. She couldn't imagine what it would be like without him there. She would've broken already, the boys probably too. Owen was doing so well, she was so thankful he stayed. She nodded and he smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead. He then went back to unpacking the bags.

A little while later, Claire sat on the bed with the laptop. She was going through her inbox and was organizing them into what exactly they were. Complaints, questions, concerns, news people. Owen was sitting on the chair. They had the news on a low volume, and they had begun getting into the nitty gritty of Jurassic World. They were starting to really ask about the four of them. They had gotten bits and pieces from guests who weren't really all that traumatized, who escaped without so much as a bruise, but they didn't have the whole story and they were dying for it.

At first, Owen didn't want Claire to have any part of this. He didn't want her going through the inbox at all, but she had insisted on helping. After arguing with each other, they to an agreement. Claire would sort through the emails and organize them if she promised not to look at any of them, then Owen would reply to them all. Claire still didn't feel it was fair, and it wasn't, but Owen didn't care. He wasn't going to let her see the nasty things written in some of those emails.

About an hour later, Claire gave him the laptop. It was nearly dead, so he plugged it in. It was burning hot, so he put it on the armrest.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Claire asked. Owen nodded as he opened the first complaint, "I respond to the emails from the news people,"

"Claire…" Owen began.

"Do you honestly think there's any hate in those?" she asked.

"No but do you really want to go on television and talk about it? You had a hard enough time talking about it to your own sister," Owen paused. Then he got an idea, "I'll go,"

"What?" she sat up.

"I'll talk to the news people. That way you can heal and think of what to do next about the island," Owen said.

"Owen. I can't ask you to do that," Claire said.

"You're not asking, and neither am I. Either I go or no one goes. You can respond to them; schedule appoints. Just tell where to go and when to go there," Owen said, "I'll have to get some nice clothes,"

He looked over at the pile of casual, not television ready clothes in the corner. He sighed and and looked down at the laptop. He clicked on the first set of emails.

"We don't know each other very well," Claire said, "although it feels like I've known you for years,"

"A traumatizing experience can do that to people," Owen replied.

"I know, but I'd like to get to know you better," she said.

"I'd like to get to know you better too, but I'm a little busy," Owen said.

"How about, for now, I ask and you answer. Then when it's my turn to answer emails, we'll switch," Claire offered.

"Yeah, I guess we can try that," Owen said as he began typing. Claire thought for a moment. There was so much she wanted to know; where would she start?

"How old were you when you first became obsessed with dinosaurs?" Claire asked.

"When I was fourteen," Owen replied, "that's when they thought they were going to have a real, live dinosaur park,"

"But you joined the Navy?" Claire asked.

"Yeah. My dad was a marine. He wanted me to go into the armed forces, and I wasn't too keen on the idea of going to college" Owen said.

"Really? Why not?" Claire asked.

"I didn't want to go to school for another four years just to get a boring old job, so I went to the military academy. I _had_ to study something, so I picked human and animalistic behavior. I thought it would be easy, but it really really intrigued me" Owen said, "then I started teaching soldiers how to train military dogs before I was sent onto a Navy boat,"

"Then we pulled you from the navy to come train raptors," Claire said. Owen nodded.

"I lived in a bungalow for almost ten years. Had a lot of fun in there too," he said. They both laughed a little. It felt nice, for both of them, "still better than the navy,"

She nodded, "how about childhood? What did you like to do?"

"I really like music," he replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah. That faded as I got older, but that's what I spent most of my money on. I had at least ten different walkmans growing up," Owen said. He laughed a little at how much money he spent to listen to music.

"How about siblings?" she asked.

"I had a little sister," Owen said.

"Had?" she questioned.

"She died when she was four," he replied. A nearly inaudible 'oh' escaped Claire's mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's fine. I was only seven. I knew but I didn't know, you know?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"And it was thirty years ago. I've gotten over it," he said.

"I would imagine," she said, "tell me a funny story,"

"What?"

"Tell me something funny that happened to you when you were little," she said.

"Oh, umm…" he didn't know which one to choose, "there was one time. I was in eighth grade. I was in a musical,"

"You can sing?" she perked up.

"Yeah. It went in with the whole liking music thing. I was playing Rooster. Now the Easy Street dance was really dumb and complicated. There was the stage and then another part of the stage about a step down from it," he began setting the scene with his hands, "and during the big finale, I was supposed to jump off one of the chairs that was up against the step,"

"Uh-oh," she said.

"Yeah, uh-oh," he replied, "whoever set my chair that day didn't make sure it was against the step. I was supposed to step onto the main stage, then onto the chair with one foot and push myself off. The chair slipped back and I fell flat on my face,"

"Oh god," she started laughing.

"Yeah. It was funny. The best part was, no one stopped, no one cared, so I just got right up and kept on dancing," he said, "oh and also when they were first teaching us the dance, the teacher sat on me,"

"She what?" Claire said laughing.

"She sat on me to demonstrate how the girl who played Lily should sit on me at the end of the song," Owen said. They both laughed. It seemed almost as if nothing bad had happened. But then reality set back in with the news, the emails, the PTSD. They could pretend at some times that it didn't happen, but it did. They couldn't get away from it no matter how hard they tried.

For the next several hours, Owen sat in the chair answering countless emails, and occasionally asking Claire for help with things he was authorized at the time they were on Jurassic World, but now the secret was out. The world was going to get to know everything and he was going to have to know everything to tell the world.

"Owen. Stop," Claire said, grabbing his wrists. He sighed and looked at her.

"Claire I have like fifty emails left let me finish, please," Owen whined. Claire pulled him up off the chair and faced him. She pulled him closer to her and kissed him. He kissed her back. Her kiss made him forget about the emails, the island, the dinosaurs all together. His kiss did the same to her. She began pulling him towards the bed.

"Claire I can't," he softly. She ignored him and kept trying to pull him, "Claire I can't," he said once again. She still ignored him, "Claire!" he said, pulling away from her and putting both hands on her shoulders, "I can't,"

"Why not?" she asked, disappointed. Owen sighed.

"You know what happened when you put heels on?" he asked. She paled but nodded, "the same thing happens to me when I lay down!"

A look a realization crossed her face, "and to Zach when he touches water,"

"Trust me. I would _love_ to get to know you in _that_ way," he said with a smirk, "but I can't," he paused, "wait. Did you say that happens to Zach when he touches water?!"

"Yes," she said.

"Do you wanna go to dinner? I wanna go to dinner," he said, taking her hand before she could respond. Owen grabbed the room key and his credit card from the counter as they walked out the door.

* * *

There was a knock at his door. Zach got up from his desk, and unlocked it. Gray stood there holding a bowl of Mac N Cheese.

"Mom told me to give this to you," Gray said, "and she also said she went out and got you a new phone. And she also said that she's mad because insurance doesn't cover being crushed by a giant dinosaur and then being killed more by mud,"

"Don't they have like an 'unusual situation' box or something?" Zach asked, taking the bowl from Gray. It was then he realized how hungry he was. He quickly began shoveling it into his mouth.

"So, did you call Owen?" Gray asked.

"No," Zach replied, mouth full of Mac N Cheese, "I wasn't going to bother him for something as stupid as a bad dream,"

Zach stopped dead when he saw the look on his little brother's face. Zach cursed himself. Gray called Owen for bad dreams. Gray looked up to Zach so much, especially in a time like this, and Zach had just said that to the kid who called Owen because he had a bad dream. The two of them looked at each other in silence. Zach was the first to speak.

"Gray, look…" Zach didn't get to finish. Gray ran across the hall and slammed his door shut. He heard Gray begin to cry. Zach screamed and threw the remaining contents of the bowl, and the bowl, onto the floor in the hallway. Then he screamed as he slammed his door and locked it. Then he stomped off towards his bathroom.

* * *

Owen and Claire pulled up to a Red Robin. She found it strange how randomly he had brought up dinner, but he obviously wanted to talk and he also wanted an out of that awkward situation. She did too to be perfectly honest. She was so embarrassed. She thought that's what he would want after hours of reading and answering emails, and it was. He just couldn't do it, and what was worse was that she had tried to continue even though he said no.

They walked into the restaurant, and walked up to the check in stand. There was a family in front of them. A hostess took them to their table, and another looked up at Claire and Owen.

"Hi! Two?" she asked. Owen nodded. She grabbed two menus, "you can follow me,"

She lead them through a row of tables towards a booth in the back. They walked slowly through the sea of chairs.

"Hey! You're the people for Jurassic World!" someone yelled loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. The entire place went silent before people started screaming and yelling. They got out of their chairs and began surrounding the couple. Owen grabbed Claire's hand and began pushing through the crowd. They were leaving.

"Move! Get out of the way!" Owen yelled. He pushed people out of the way, trying to make a path for them to the door, "MOVE!" this voice got deeper when he yelled. Some people got the hint and back off, but others still stayed. He put his shoulder into the last person in between them and the door. He was not going to hear the end of that. He pushed the door opened and him and Claire ran out. They ran to the car and got inside, Owen immediately locked the doors.

"Oh my god," Claire said, her breath was shaking. Owen took her hands.

"I am so so sorry about that," he said. He leaned over the center console and kissed her, "I am so sorry. We'll get drive thru from now on,"

She nodded and Owen put the car in drive. The two drove through the McDonald's drive thru once again. They got back to the hotel to find paparazzi and reports in the lobby.

"Oh no," Owen moaned, "okay. When I say run, run. We'll go to the stairs. Elevators take too long to close,"

She nodded and they moved into the lobby. They made it about ten feet before someone yelled, "IT'S THEM!"

Still holding hands, Owen and Claire ran for the stairs. Owen crashed into the door and began running up. Claire was close behind. Owen left the stairwell at the second floor.

"But we're on the fifth floor," Claire said.

"I am not running up five flights of stairs," he pressed the elevator button and a door opened immediately. They stepped inside and the doors closed. They were finally alone. Claire broke down once again. She began crying and she fell into his arms.

"Why can't they just leave us alone?" she asked, and continued crying. When the elevator dinged, Owen picked her up, and carried her down the hall to her room. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. He walked over to the chair and just sat down with Claire in his lap. He looked at the laptop that stood on the footrest. He ignored it. He just want to be with Claire right now. He held her tightly to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder, and he rested his on top of her's. The two sat there in silence until Claire fell asleep. Owen wasn't letting himself sleep, as much as he needed it. Claire or one of the boys might need him, and he wasn't going to submit to the nightmares. No matter how hard it was, he wasn't going to sleep.

 **I know this chapter has a little less PTSD in it, and I hope you guys are okay with that. The next chapter will make up for this one lack of PTSD I promise. Also with the Annie thing. Both of those things actually happened to me, except it was when I was in fifth grade, not eighth. Eighth grade we did Peter Pan and I was the dog. Anyway, during Annie rehearsals, the teacher sat on little fifth grade me and I fell flat on my face while jumping off a chair. I couldn't think of anything to be original that was funny, so I just chose a memory that makes everyone laugh.**

 **-Croc9400**


	5. Chapter 5: Tragedy

**Chapter 5: Tragedy**

 **Okay, so listen to this. In this story, chapter 1 has 1000 something words, chapter 2 has 2000 something words, chapter 3 has 3000 something words, and chapter 4 has 4000 something words. And that's not on purpose. I don't think that'll keep up much longer, lol. What are the odds, honestly, of that happening accidentally?**

Owen's phone began to ring. He cursed himself for not thinking to silence it. He had been sitting there for an hour answering the last few emails and he hadn't thought to silence his phone. It was ringing loudly and made the entire chair vibrate. Claire stirred on his lap and woke up as he tried to get his hand underneath her to get his phone out of his pocket. She slid off of him onto the armrest so he could get his phone. He got it from his pocket. He expected it to be one of the boys but it wasn't. It was Karen. He quickly picked it up.

"Karen what's wrong?" Owen said. Claire perked up at the mention of her sister.

"Something happened between the boys," she said. She was crying, "both of them refuse to come out of their rooms, and we can't get them unlocked,"

"I'll be right over," Owen said.

"Thank you," she replied. Owen hung up the phone and Claire looked at him curiously.

"Something happened with the boys," Owen said, standing up, "I need to go,"

"Can I come?" Claire asked.

"Of course," Owen replied, "I just didn't want you to feel obligated in case you wanted to sleep,"

"Are you crazy?" she asked, opening the hotel room door. They walked out and to the elevator.

"Ah shit!" Owen said once the doors shut.

"What?" Claire asked.

"I forgot about the paparazzi," he said, covering his face with his hand.

"Then we'll make a break for it," she said, "we need to get over there,"

Owen nodded and took Claire's hand. He then leaned down and kissed her. He put his other hand behind her back as her other hand did the same. The elevator then dinged, cutting them short.

"We'll finish that later," he said with a smirk. She couldn't help but smiled. He hadn't let go of her hand as the two ventured into the lobby. There were fewer paparazzi then before, but they were still present. They didn't crowd them, just snapped pictures from afar. He still hated it, but it was better than before.

They got in their rental car and drove quickly to the house. Owen slammed the car door and ran up the driveway. He didn't bother knocking as he entered the house. When he entered he saw Scott with a crowbar trying to get Zach's door opened.

"What are you doing?" Owen asked frantically.

"He's not even answering us now," Scott replied.

"Gray isn't either," Karen said, "already tried his room,"

Owen pushed him aside and knocked on the door, "Zach?" he said. There was no response so he pounded on the door, "ZACH!"

There was no response as Claire entered the house. Karen ran and gave her sister a hug. Owen pressed his ear to the door and heard nothing.

"Get me a screwdriver," Owen said. No one listened, "get me a screwdriver NOW!"

He got through to Scott he went into the kitchen towards the garage door. Owen continued pounding on the door. Scott returned quickly and handed Owen the screwdriver. Owen went to work quickly on the hinges. He unscrewed them from the wall and pushed the door in. Zach wasn't in his room. They all looked began looking. It wasn't long before Karen screamed.

They all ran to the bathroom, where she was standing. Zach was lying on the floor, and there was an empty bottle of pills on the counter. Owen quickly knelt down next to the boy and felt for a pulse. There was a pulse there, but it was very very faint.

"CALL 911!" Owen shouted. Scott ran from the room for the phone. Karen was crying hysterically into her sister's arm, "what are the pills?"

"They're-they're-they're," Karen couldn't get it out. Owen picked up the bottle.

"Codeine?!" Owen shouted, "why on earth does he had codeine?!"

"It was from when he broke his rib a few months ago. Ambulance is on it's way," Scott said, coming back into the room. Owen threw the bottle on the ground. Then he remembered Gray. He ran from the room and grabbed the screwdriver on his way out. He made quick work of Gray's door. His room was completely empty, but the window was wide open.

"Oh god," Owen said. He looked around the boy's room and saw a piggy bank. He quickly opened it. It was empty, "no no no,"

Something happened between Gray and Zach. Something must've happened for Gray to run away and Zach to attempt suicide. Owen walked slowly back into Zach's room.

"Gray ran away," Owen said softly. Karen screamed and broke down. They heard the ambulance approaching. Owen ran into the bathroom and picked Zach up. He ran out the front door and met the ambulance at the end of the driveway. Scott was not far behind him. Paramedics jumped from the back of the van.

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"Family friend," Owen replied.

"I'm his father," Scott piped up. The men nodded, and took Zach from Owen.

"Do you know what he took?" the medic asked.

"Codeine," Owen replied.

"Know how much?" he asked. Owen looked to Scott who shook his head.

"No," Owen said.

"Dad, you wanna come with?" the medic asked. Scott nodded and climbed into the back of the ambulance.

"We'll be right behind you," Owen said as they closed the back and drove off. Owen watched them go then ran back into the house. He ran into Zach's room.

"Come along ladies," Owen said, taking Claire's hand. Claire held her sister tightly to her as they left the house. The sisters got in the backseat while Owen sat in the front. They couldn't see him, so he let it out. He let the tears run down his cheeks as Karen sobbed in the backseat. She had lost both her boys that night over something they didn't even know about.

They pulled into the hospital a few minutes after the ambulance. They saw Zach being rushed in with Scott on their heels. Owen quickly parked and got out. He knew Claire and Karen would get out on their own time. Owen ran into the emergency room and saw Scott standing there screaming at a nurse. Owen quickly ran over to them.

"Scott! Scott! Scott!" he said, "what's going on?"

"They won't let me back there," he said, almost in tears, "they won't let me back there with my son,"

"Come here big guy," Owen said, pulling Scott into a hug. It was a little awkward for him, but the man really needed it. He had tried to keep it together, like Owen was, he just wasn't as good as it. Scott cried as Owen embraced him. He had calmed down, and the nurse had gone back to her work. Owen and Scott went and sat down.

"I should probably call the police about Gray," Scott said. Owen nodded.

"I'll stay here if you wanna take it out," Owen said. Scott nodded.

"Thank you," he stood up and walked outside. Claire and Karen soon came in. Both of them threw themselves onto Owen. Owen embraced them both as Scott came in.

"Karen and I need to go to the police station," Scott said, hitting his phone against his hand. Karen nodded and walked over to her husband who took her into his arms.

"I'll drive you," Claire offered, "I need to stop back at the hotel anyway,"

"What are you going to get?" Owen asked.

"The laptop and my phone," Claire replied, "give me the room key, and stay here,"

Owen took a second, but then nodded. He removed the key from his pocket and handed it to Claire. She stood on her toes and kissed him before turning and following Scott and Karen out of the emergency room. Owen sighed and sat back down. He had an agonizing wait ahead of him.

* * *

Claire dropped Karen and Scott off at the police station. She felt so awful for her sister. Being in this tragedy with the boys, she had grown close to them, not to mention protective. She was in no way going through the wave of emotions her sister was, but she felt something big. The boys she had done so much to protect two days ago were gone. One had run away and the other was on the brink of death. She cried.

She wished Owen was there with her. He always made her feel better. She exhaled. She needed to learn to live without Owen. She was going to be sent back to Isla Nublar, she knew that. She was the highest ranking Jurassic World worker left. She was going to have to go back there. There were living, breathing dinosaurs on that island and she needed to keep them there, only until they died. She was not going to drag Owen back there with her; she had to learn to live without him.

She pulled up in front of the hotel, and didn't bother to park the car. She turned it off and took the keys out. She walked inside, and let the paparazzi take pictures of her. She walked into the elevator and went up to their floor. She grabbed her phone and her laptop from the chair and left the room. She got back into the elevator and went down.

There was a gunshot as the door opened. She screamed, and ran. There was another shot that whizzed past her ear. She ran to the car and got in it as a third bullet hit the car. She started it quickly and sped away. She was in tears. As much as she wanted to deny it she couldn't. She needed Owen.

* * *

Owen's phone rang in the middle of the emergency room. He whipped it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was 'unknown' so he cautiously picked it up. He heard crying on the other end.

"Owen!" it was Gray.

"Gray! Gray where are you?" Owen asked frantically.

"I'm not telling," he replied.

"Okay. Okay. I understand," Owen said, "umm...what happened between you and Zach?"

"That's why I called," Gray began crying more, "Zach said it was stupid to call you for bad dreams. I had a bad dream, but during the day, after he told me that,"

"And you didn't call me," Owen finished.

"Yeah," Gray said. Owen sighed. He was going to have to tell him. Owen was going to have to tell him where he was and why. Although Gray was a pretty smart kid. He might be able to handle it. He probably could on any other day, but now, Owen just didn't know. He had to make a decision and he and he had to make one fast.

"Gray, do you know what suicide is?" Owen asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Gray said, sniffling.

"Umm...because, I'm at the hospital now...Zach attempted suicide," Owen said. He got a sympathetic look from the lady sitting near him. He smiled weakly at her; it was the best he could offer. Gray's sobs on the other end of the line got louder.

"He's dead?!" Gray asked.

"We don't know yet," Owen answered honestly, "do you want to come home?"

"I can't," Gray said.

"Why not?" Owen asked.

"I can't come home. I just can't!" Gray yelled then hung up the phone. Owen stomped his foot then sat back down in his chair with his head in his hands. He heard the doors open and he looked up. Claire was running in, her face covered in tears. Owen stood up quickly and she ran into his arms.

"Someone-someone-someone-" Claire began, but she couldn't finish. She buried her head into Owen's chest. Owen just held her close to him, "someone tried to kill me,"

Owen went cold. He knew exactly what she was talking about. Just before Scott had called, Owen had been reading an email. It said that this man was the only one left of his family of four, and he was going to kill her, him, and the boys. He had completely forgotten it after Scott's call. Then it struck him. Gray was in danger. They needed to find him, and they needed to find him now.

"There was a threat. In an email," Owen said softly, "said he was coming for us. Gray's in danger,"

"What?" Claire asked.

"A man lost his entire family on the island. He said he was coming for all of us. Gray's in danger," Owen said. Claire began shaking and Owen pulled her close once again. He then looked up to see Karen and Scott walking into the hospital.

"How'd you guys get here?" Owen asked, not letting go of Claire.

"An officer dropped us off," Karen said. She was calmer now. Karen placed her hand on Claire's shoulder. Claire turned quickly and embraced her sister.

"Someone tried to kill me," Claire said softly. Scott gave him a 'seriously?' look. Owen nodded. He needed to tell Scott about his talk with Gray.

"Gray called me," Owen said. This got Karen and Claire's attention. They looked at him attentively, "he told me what happened between him and Zach,"

"Well what happened?!" Karen asked frantically.

"Zach told Gray it was stupid to call me over a bad dream. Then Gray had a bad daydream, didn't call me, and ran," Owen said, "also Gray's in danger,"

"What?" Scott asked.

"The man who tried to kill Claire. Claire got an email from him. He threatened to kill her, me, and the boys," Owen said, "Gray refused to come home, even after I told him about Zach,"

"Oh my god," Karen said, and embraced her sister once again.

"Zachary Mitchell,"

They all turned around at the mention of Zach's name. A nurse was standing there with a clipboard in her hand. No one in their group spoke up.

"That's, us," Owen said and began walking towards her. The others followed behind.

"He's going to survive," she said. Owen sighed and relief as did the people around him.

"But we won't know if there is any damage until he wakes up," she said. The others nodded, but then Owen thought of something.

"He was struggling with PTSD prior to this, will that affect his recovery?" he asked. The nurse paled a little.

"Excuse me," she said, and ran back into the depths of the ER. Owen stomped off down the hallway. He found a single stalled bathroom and went inside. He locked the door and screamed. He slammed his fists into the door and began to cry. He was blaming himself. He went around the bathroom, destroying everything he could. He slammed the front off the paper towel dispenser and threw the soap dispenser to the ground. He flipped the top off the toilet and let it hit the ground, shattering it to pieces. He took a large piece and slammed it into the sink. This broke the faucet, and water began spraying throughout the bathroom. He then went and sat against the door. He had his knees up to his chest, and his head between his knees. He was sobbing when he heard a knock on the door. His breath caught in his throat.

"Owen?" it was only Claire. Her soft voice calmed him down slightly, "Owen, will you let me in?"

Owen debated it. He had been determined to stay strong, but that was nearly impossible. He gave up. He stood and unlocked the door. Claire gasped when she saw the bathroom, but he immediately embraced her. Him burying his neck into her shoulder this time. He just cried. He let out everything he had been holding in as Claire ran her fingers through his hair and over the back of his neck. He had always thought that the boys and Claire needed him, and that was why he stayed. Now he knew it was different; the opposite, actually. He needed the boys and Claire, maybe even more than they needed him.

 **So that ummm...happened. Our air conditioner is broken. I'm hot and I can't sleep. Maybe that's why I was this mean to them. I know less PTSD more drama, but the PTSD will be back, I PROMISE! This is just gonna make it worse :)**

 **-Croc9400**


	6. Chapter 6: Runaway

**Chapter 6: Runaway**

 **See, that streak didn't last. It was also midnight when I posted the last chapter, so woohoo. Also, I wanna watch some Chris Pratt interviews so bad but then I feel I'll start writing Owen more as Chris Pratt than Owen, so I am going to resist until I finish writing this.**

Gray was standing outside of the Seven Eleven on a street corner in New York City. It was typical of him to run away there, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. When he had gotten to the bus station, his only two options were New York City, or a small town in Oklahoma. He would stick out more in Oklahoma, so he had chosen New York, and he was glad that he did.

Ana final emerged from inside the Seven Eleven. She had bags of food on her arms. She smiled when she saw Gray.

"Hey Ana," he smiled, and the two started off down the street. The two heard thunder overhead. Gray looked to Ana.

"We need to find shelter," she said. Gray nodded and the two began running down the street as the rain came down. Gray had met Ana on the bus to New York; she wasn't just some stranger, at least not anymore. After spending fifteen hours on a bus with someone, you get to know them pretty well.

 _Gray walked into the bus station, and up to the ticket counter. There were two buses leaving within the next ten minutes. He needed to leave the station before they realized he was gone. His options were New York City or a small town in Oklahoma. He bought a ticket to New York and ran to where the bus would be leaving from._

 _He got in line with the other people as they boarded the bus; shoving the driver their ticket as they entered. Gray showed the driver his ticket and was nodded onto the bus. He walked in cautiously. He didn't want to sit next to the wrong person. Most of the seats were empty, and the ones that were full didn't look pleasant, so he took an empty row in the middle of the bus._

 _He watched as other people boarded and found seats. He eventually stopped paying attention, and opened his backpack. Inside were many thing, but he only grabbed a notebook and a pen. Owen had suggested that he write down anything about his PTSD or his life that he wanted. He said that was an easy way to relieve stress or pain that went along with it. There was one other entry in the notebook. It was about the daytime nightmare that made him decide to run away, and then his eventual decision. He dated the page and began writing a second entry._

 _ **Hey,**_

 _ **So, I did it. I'm running away. I'm on a bus to New York City. Don't know what I'll do when I get there. Have Owen's phone number memorized, so I might call him from like a payphone or something if there are any in New York. I didn't steal one of parent's cell phones because those can be traced. I think this was the right decision, and if not, I have money put aside to get a ticket home, but I don't plan on using it.**_

" _Hey,"_

 _Gray looked up from his notebook. There was a girl standing there. She looked to be about Zach's age. She had on a beanie, and she had straight, dark hair that went down past her shoulder. She wore leather biker's gloves the matched the leather vest she wore. She had on maroon jeans and combat boots, but the most noticeable thing about her was her nose piercing and the tattoo on her wrist._

" _Is anyone sitting there?" she asked. Gray thought for a moment. Should he let this girl sit down? It was better than some weird old man. He shook his head no._

" _Thanks," she smiled. She took her backpack off her back and sat down, letting it rest in her lap, "I'm Anastasia, but everyone calls me Ana,"_

" _I'm Gray," Gray said. She nodded._

" _Running away?" she asked._

" _How'd you know?"_

" _I'm good at reading people," she smiled, "you're also a little kid on a bus, alone. That gives it away,"_

" _Oh,"_

" _Don't worry. I am too," she paused, "have I seen you before?"_

" _Umm," she probably saw him on the news. Whether or not he decided to tell her was his choice. Should he? There was really no escaping it, "I was on Jurassic World during in incident,"_

" _That was you?!" she seemed shocked, "why on earth are you running away then?!"_

" _My older brother's a jerk," Gray said, "he kinda called me a wimp for calling Owen about having a bad dream,"_

" _Oh. I'm sorry," she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. Of course she knew who Owen was. There wasn't a soul in the world now who didn't know the names Claire Dearing and Owen Grady. The bus began moving away from the station, and inside both Gray and Ana relaxed. Neither of them would be forced to stay._

" _So what about you?" Gray asked, pulling away, "why are you running away?"_

" _My little sister," Ana replied, "my parents favorite her so much, and she abuses that. She uses it to get me in trouble. Will fall down and say I pushed her, and my parents will punish me unreasonably for it. I'm fed up with it. They probably won't even miss me,"_

" _I'm sorry," Gray said._

" _Do you wanna come with me?" she asked, "my uncle. He lent me his place in the city. He also took me to get these,"_

 _She pointed to her nose piercing and showed him the tattoo on her wrist. It was just a simple, black star._

" _I also have a band around my arm," she rolled up her sleeve. Gray marveled at it._

" _Those are really cool," he said._

" _So do you wanna stay with me? Or do you have a place?" she asked._

 _He hadn't really thought what he would do once he got to New York. He had just assumed he'd find a place, but he had always heard the city wasn't the nicest place. It may not be the safest option, but what other one did he have._

" _Sure," he smiled. She looked a little too happy, but he didn't care. He was set, at least for now_

The two had found a coffee shop and ran inside. It wasn't much and at least it was dry. They each got a pastry and a drink, and sat down to wait out at the storm.

"My uncle's isn't too far from here," she said, biting into the cake.

"Is he going to be there?" Gray asked, biting into his own.

"No, he's not. He's back in Wisconsin, covering for me," she said. Gray looked around the tiny shop, and saw a payphone in the corner.

"Hang on," Gray said, getting up, "I'm going to call Owen,"

Ana nodded and continued eating. Gray stood and went to the payphone. He returned about five minutes later with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.

"What happened?" Ana asked, concerned.

"My brother, he attempted suicide," Gray said. Ana's face fell.

"Let's go," she said. Gray nodded. He wrapped the rest of his pastry in a napkin and put it in his bag. He picked up his drink and followed Ana out of the shop. They walked down the street in the now much lighter rain to an apartment building. Ana removed a keyring from her pocket and scanned a card attached to. The gate popped opened and the kids went inside.

"His apartment's on the third floor," she said, heading for the stairs. There was caution tape in front of the elevator. They entered the stairwell and went up.

They were allowed into Zach's room. Owen sat in the room's only chair. He rested his elbow on the armrest, and his hand on his face. Claire stood behind him, slowing rubbing his shoulders. They all knew what Owen had just went through, and no one said anything about it. He was the strong one, but the strong one can't always be strong. He had been through the same thing the other three had, and he had lost the most from it. His home, his job, his friends, everything. All he had left was Claire, and no one blamed him for breaking down.

That's why he got the only chair. Scott and Karen stood leaning against the wall on the other side of Zach's bed. He was pale, but as the hours ticked on, the color was very slowly returning to his face. He had a cannula in his nose, and a heart monitor on his finger, along with another on his chest as well.

The doctor had come in a few hours ago, and said that they managed to flush all of the drug from his system, and that if he had taken one more pill, or showed up ten minutes later, he'd be dead. He also said that the PTSD would make his recovery much harder. That if he did slip into a coma, he could have dreams in it, and those dreams may lead to posttraumatic seizures. If he slipped into a coma, if he didn't he should be fine, mentally at least.

Regardless of whether he went into a coma or not, the doctors believed he would have some nerve damage from the amount of codeine he took. The doctor explain to them that painkillers affected the signals sent from the brain to the rest of the body. One or two isn't bad, but he took about ten. If that doesn't kill you, it could permanently damage one's nerves.

A nurse finally came in with extra chairs. They had asked for them hours ago, but the nurse only brought them in now. It was a hospital after all. The three who were standing took a chair and sat down. Claire took out the laptop.

"What are you doing?" Owen asked, reaching for it.

"No, no no! You're not touching this," Claire said, holding it out of his reach, "I'm responding to the reporters,"

"Now?" Owen asked, a little shocked.

"It needs to be done," Claire said, "and you, my friend, are going on a press tour,"

"Oh great," Owen said, leaning back in his seat. He looked at the pale boy on the bed. If he did not wake up in the next few hours he would be 'officially' declared comatose. Owen wanted to be there when he was. Mostly because he just hoped it wasn't true. A nurse came into the room.

"Visiting hours are over," she said, "one of the parents may stay overnight,"

"I'll stay," Karen said. Scott began to protest, "I won't be able to sleep at home. You will,"

Scott went to argue, but knew it was true. He nodded and looked at Owen and Claire, who were standing and ready to leave the room. The three left, closing the door behind them.

Owen and Claire were sitting back in there hotel room. Claire on the bed, and Owen in his chair. He had blankets and pillows surrounding him, and they were once again watching the news. Some stations had begun drumming up buzz about upcoming interviews with Owen Grady that had been scheduled only a few hours ago.

"I got most of the news stations to pay for your expenses. You'll only have to pay for three or four flights or trains or whatever. I did live news then magazines, so if you get sick of traveling you can come back and do the magazine interviews via email," Claire said. Owen untangled himself from the blanket and stood up. He walked over to the bed; over to Claire. He took her hands into his.

"I don't wanna go," he said softly. She stood up to face him.

"I know," Claire said. She stood on her toes and kissed him. She pulled apart, and there foreheads still stayed touching, "but you have to,"

"I know, but just because I have to doesn't mean I want," Owen pouted.

"I need to shower," Claire said softly, beginning to pull away.

"May I join you?" he asked. She smiled and nodded, pulling him behind her. He had only ever once doubted getting close to Claire, and that was after their monstrosity of a first date. After that, he hadn't doubted getting close to her, although he knew she had. He was glad her shield was down because now, in both of their times of weakness, they could get to know each other. And Owen could finally get the girl he's been in love with for the last five years.

 **I just wanna say, I don't know if all the medical stuff in this chapter is true or possible, I just made it up for the sake of drama and it kinda makes sense. And I know it's short I'm sorry, I wanted to cut it off there. I hoped there would be more content but there wouldn't. The PTSD is really gonna come back once Owen leaves in the next chapter. I know I've been promising it, but it actually will be coming back in the next chapter.**

 **-Croc9400**


	7. Chapter 7: Loss and Found

**Chapter 7: Loss and Found**

Owen sat alone in the gate of the airport. It had been three days since Claire had finished scheduling his interviews. Zach was declared comatose, and Gray hadn't called him since. There was no way he could get in touch with the boy, so there was no way of him knowing if he was dead, alive, safe, happy, scared. Owen hated the fact that he was so clueless about everything that was going on with the people he cared about.

He didn't even know about Claire. Since his breakdown, he could tell she was holding things back. She wasn't telling him everything; she was even acting. She acted too happy and cheery to be someone going through what she was going through. It would've been so much easier for both of them if she had just told him. Now she was stuck holding it back, he was stuck wondering if she was okay.

He then of course had to worry about Zach. He would absolutely be coming back when he woke up, regardless of when it was. If it was during an interview, he would leave the interviews, if it was during a flight, he'd be on the next flight back to Wisconsin. He was going to be there for that boy because, in a way, he caused what was going on between the brothers, or what had happened between them.

A woman came over the intercom saying that they were going to begin boarding. Owen stood and grabbed his bag. He had one bag checked with nice clothes in it, and his other was a carry on. He had also taken the laptop with him, and made Claire promise not to look at the hateful emails on her phone. She had, but whether or not she actually kept that promise, he wouldn't know.

He sighed as he thought of everything that could go wrong on this trip. Less with the technicalities, but more with him and his emotional state. If someone asshole reporter asked the wrong thing, Owen would be off. He was going to be talking to over twenty different stations and ten different magazines, there was going to be one reporter out there who pushed him over the edge. He knew it.

He sat in his seat and took a notebook from his bag. Earlier in the week, he had suggested to Gray that he begin to keep a journal. The journal was a way to get your feelings out. Owen had decided to take his own advice, and started one after his incident in the bathroom at the hospital. There were four entries in the notebook already. He began adding the fifth.

 _ **So I'm on the plane, off on my month long press tour. I really don't think I'll last a month though. I'm gonna try my best to hold it out, but if Zach wakes up, or Gray comes back, or Claire needs me, the tour is off. They need me more than the media does. They are my top priority. I feel a little selfish. I said before that I need them maybe even more than they need me, and that makes me feel selfish. I've never needed or wanted anything more than Claire and the boys, and I feel selfish for not wanting to leave even though some day I know I'll have to.**_

Owen closed the journal and tucked it in his bag just as was woman and her teenage boy and what looked like his little brother sat next to him. Owen offered a weak smile before turning back towards the window. Were the gods purposefully torturing him? Did they purposefully put two boys that reminded him so much of Zach and Gray next to him on the plane? He couldn't run from it though, he had to face it.

The plane took off about fifteen minutes later. His first stop was obviously New York City. Then LA, and then just bouncing around the country. He had multiple interviews in New York and LA, so he'd be in both places a few days. He'd be in New York almost a week. Of course he was going there for press tours and all, but he hoped that he would find Gray in one of these places. He would spend all the time he wasn't interviewing, looking for Gray.

He had never been a huge fan of planes. Helicopters were fine for some reason, but he couldn't do planes. He closed his eyes as they took off, and kept them closed until he felt the plane level out in the sky. Then he closed the window, and pushed his seat back a tiny bit. He was going to at least rest. He wouldn't fall asleep, but it he needed the rest.

* * *

Gray was woken up by the sound of the house phone ringing. He didn't remember falling asleep the night before. He remembered being scared the fall asleep, like he had the last two nights he was in New York. Though he remembered last night being different. Last night, Ana found out, and she was talking to him. That was the last thing he remembered.

He got off the couch and went to the phone. The only person who ever called the phone was Ana. It didn't look like she was anywhere in the apartment, so it had to be her. He answered it.

"Hello?" he said. There was no response, but he did hear breathing on the other line. He quickly hung up. He quickly wrote Ana a note, saying he was going out, and left the apartment. He needed to find another payphone. He was doing good on his own, but after that weird call he needed Owen.

He found one around the corner and put some money in. He got weird looks as he dialed the number. The phone began ringing and ringing and ringing, but Owen didn't pick up. Gray, who was nearly in tears, hung up the phone and headed back to the building. Then he remembered Ana had the only set of keys. He sighed and looked at the panel of buzzers. He pushed the one for his neighbor.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi. I've been staying in 3F, it's my uncle's place, but my um, sister, has the only key. Could you buzz me in?" Gray asked politely.

"Or course sweetheart!" she said, and he heard a buzzer.

"Thank you!" He ran to the front door, and went through it. He just hoped he didn't leave lock the door. He ran up the stairs to the apartment. He tried the doorknob and exhaled in relief when it was unlocked. He turned on the TV and put on the news. There he saw a video of Jurassic World employee Owen Grady as he made his way from the airport on his way to do interviews.

* * *

Claire sat in the hospital room with Karen and Scott. She wished Owen was here with her. She was doing fine without him, but she just felt more comfortable with him there. The room was already tense with Zach's condition, but the tensions between Karen and Scott were also high. It didn't help that Scott said the stupidest thing in the world.

"This is all your fault," he said softly. Karen turned toward him abruptly.

"Excuse me?!" she asked, in shock, "how is this _my_ fault?"

"You were the one who wanted the send them on the trip," Scott said.

"If I remember correctly, you said, 'we need to get the boys out of the house so we can focus on the divorce'" Karen said.

"Yeah, but you chose Jurassic World!"

"Because Gray wouldn't shut up about wanting to go there! And Claire worked there! It was the perfect opportunity" Karen shouted.

"Claire. It's her fault!"

"No, Scott, don't bring her into this," Karen said.

"But it is, isn't it?!" Scott stood up, "she didn't evacuate the island! She didn't even know where the boys were!"

"Okay, one, I did evacuate the island, but it's an _island_ , it can only be evacuated so fast," Claire said, "and I had work to do! They would be following me around on errands because I just so happened to be the second in command at that park,"

"Yeah exactly you didn't do anything! You didn't leave anyone with them!" Scott shouted.

"I left my assistant with them, and they ran away from her!" Claire said.

"WELL YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN WITH THEM! IF YOU HAD BEEN WE WOULDN'T FUCKING BE HERE!" Scott screamed.

"WE PROBABLY WOULD STILL BE HERE!" Claire stood up, "THEY EVENTUALLY ENDED UP WITH ME! REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING OR WHEN THEY DID! WE WOULD PROBABLY STILL BE HERE!"

"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Scott shouted.

"No, Scott you get out of here," Karen said, "I want my sister here, not you,"

Scott looked almost a little shocked but then stomped out of the room. Karen walked over to her sister, who was almost in tears, and gave her a hug.

"He's right," Claire said, beginning to cry, "it is my fault,"

"Maybe it is, but I don't blame you," Karen said, "you and Owen got them back here in one piece, and I thank you so so much for that,"

Claire nodded. She had brought up Owen. She had wanted to avoid thinking of him, and the fact that he wasn't there to sooth her. Of course Karen had brought him up, but she deserved that. She deserved to feel the pain of the loneliness. She cried just wishing Owen were here. He would hold her tightly, and tell her everything was okay, that it wasn't her fault, and that they were all going to be okay in the end.

* * *

Owen cursed himself when he got off the plane. He had a missed call from an unknown number, and he was almost positive it was from Gray. Who else would call him? This calmed Owen a bit, at least he knew that Gray was alive and had enough money to at least afford to use a payphone. It gave himself some peace of mind; he just wished he had gotten his call.

There was no point in calling him back. He probably called from a payphone, and there was no way he was just waiting at the payphone for Owen to call him back. He sighed and decided just to focus on the interview, which started in less than an hour.

He made it to the stage for an action news station in New York. This was apparently going to be a little odd for them, to do it during the nighttime news rather than the morning news, but they didn't care. They had gotten him, and they had gotten in first.

Owen made a quickly stop at the hotel to change. He put on a black, button down t-shirt, and jeans. It was better than the sweats he wore on the plane. Plus it was all he had. If they wanted to change him when he got there they could.

He got a cab to the stage and was welcomed hastily. He hadn't been told that he was supposed to arrive three hours ago, and that they had pushed back his interview to compensate for his lateness. He apologized and was rushed to a stage and put into a red armchair. Soon, a reporter joined him. He stood up to greet him.

"Jared Hewer," he said, extending a hand.

"Owen Grady," Owen replied, shaking his hand.

"It's great to have you," Jared said.

"Sixty seconds!" someone shouted. Jared quickly sat down and Owen followed his example. He was signalled, and a red recording light turned on the camera. Jared smiled at the camera.

"Hello everyone," he said, "I'm Jared Hewer and here with me, is Jurassic World employee, Owen Grady who just so happened to save the entire park isn't that right, Owen?"

"I wouldn't say that," Owen said, "it was really the dinosaurs who saved the island, Rexy and Blue specifically,"

"Who?" Jared asked.

"Rexy is the T-Rex, and Blue is one of the raptors," Owen replied.

"Oh yes, the raptors. You had something to do with them when you worked on the island, didn't you?" Jared asked.

"I did. I did. I trained the raptors,"

"You _trained_ the raptors?" Jared was shocked, "so you could control them?"

"I don't control them," Owen said, "it's a relationship built on trust,"

"So Owen, I need to ask. We requested for Claire Dearing, the highest ranking Jurassic World employee, um…, left. Why are you here in her place?"

"Umm," that was one of those questions that pissed him off. What he supposed to respond? 'We all had post traumatic stress disorder and I'm the strongest one?'. He couldn't say that. He had to think of something fast, "umm...she has a lot of managing stuff on her plate right now, and I offered to go in her place,"

"Oh, so are you two a thing?" he asked. Owen laughed a little.

"It's complicated," which it was. He thought they were a thing, but he didn't know that if after this all wore down, and she healed, if they would still be a good thing.

"Now, Owen, could you tell us what happened on the island?"

"That's a long story," Owen said, "and I'm not exaggerating,"

"Okay. Start by telling us about the raptors. What was your role and theirs in all this?"

"Well…" then Owen's phone began to ring. He stopped talking and took it out of his pocket. There was no number, but it said New York City. That could be a payphone. He picked up quickly.

"Hey!" just about everyone behind the camera nodded. Owen waved them off.

"Gray?" he asked hopefully.

"Owen!" it was Gray. Owen exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You're in New York City?" Owen asked hopefully.

"How do you know?" Gray asked nervously.

"The caller ID, it came up as New York City," Owen replied.

"Hey! Get off your phone!" someone in a suit shouted. He looked very official.

"No!" Owen shouted, "so what's up kid?"

"I got a scary phone call at the apartment I'm staying at," Gray said.

"Wait you're staying at an apartment?" Owen asked, "when'd you get an apartment in New York City?"

"I met a girl on the bus," Gray said, "she was running away too. She let me stay with her,"

"Okay, so the phone call?" Owen asked.

"Dude! Get off your phone!" the man in the suit yelled again. That pushed Owen over the edge. He walked over to the door of the stage.

"Congratulations, you just lost the rest of your interview," he slammed the door shut behind him, "the phone call,"

"I picked it up and said hello. There was only breathing on the other line," Gray said.

"Okay. Where could I find you?" Owen asked.

"Gray Man's Coffee Shop on 98th," Gray said. He had debated telling him throughout the entire phone call, but he had determined that he really needed Owen.

"I will be there as fast as I can," Owen said. He was outside the studio now. He hung up his phone and hailed a cab.

* * *

Gray hung up the phone and looked at Ana across the shop. She smiled. He went back over to the table they had sat at three days before.

"So is he coming?" Ana asked.

"Yeah, he's coming," Gray smiled. Ana smiled as well.

"That's great, Gray," Ana said, "so I guess you'll be going home,"

"I don't know yet," he said, "all I know, is that I need to see him. You know why,"

Ana nodded. Gray had explained to her his PTSD earlier in the day. She had asked about it after the incident the night before, and he thought it was the right time to explain, especially because he was so rattled by the phone call. Neither of them knew what to do about it, so Ana told him to try Owen again. He had and now he was on his way. Everything looked bright, and then it didn't anymore.

A man walked into the coffee shop. He was wearing a mask, and held a gun. He raised it, and people screamed and jumped out of the way. That's when Gray realized the gun was being pointed at him. The shooter fired, and the bullet was heading for him, but Ana pushed him out of the way. The bullet lodged in her upper chest.

"ANA!" Gray shouted as she fell to the ground. Gray looked up at the shooter. The amount of emotions in his eyes at that very moment was uncountable. He had just shot an innocent child who had nothing to do with his revenge. He put the gun to his own forehead and shot. Gray looked away and back down at Ana.

"Ana," Gray said. He was crying as he knelt down beside her. She was crying and gasping for breath. She took the keys from her pocket and handed them to Gray, along with the wad of cash.

"You remind me so much of my sister," she gasped. Then she was silent.

"No! NO!" Gray shouted, shaking her a little, "ANA!"

The door opened and Gray looked up. He saw Owen standing in the doorway, surveying the scene. Owen quickly ran to Gray, and pulled the boy into his arms. Gray clung to him tightly, and cried into his shoulder. Owen looked down at the body. That must've been the girl Gray had been talking about. Owen held the boy tightly to him, and just let him cry. He was crying a lot, and it made him wonder why he was so upset about the death of someone he had known three days. He wouldn't dare question this outloud. He knew the boy just needed comfort.

Gray knew exactly why he was so upset. He was just beginning to realize this now as the pain set in. That's when Gray realized why he had bonded with her so quickly; why he was so upset about her death after knowing her only three days. It was the same reason she had bonded with him so quickly. She reminded him of his brother.

 **I am going away from the weekend and I won't be home til Monday night so I won't post until late Monday maybe Tuesday.**

 **Also, I don't know how reliable the source is, but I heard that there** _ **is**_ **going to be a sequel to Jurassic World(although I didn't doubt that) and the Chris Pratt(Owen) and Ty Simpkins(Gray) have signed on to the do the sequel. No word yet about Bryce Dallas Howard(Claire) or Nick Robinson(Zach).**

 **-Croc9400**


	8. Chapter 8: Gray

**Chapter 8: Gray**

 **Turns out the place I went on vacation has wifi so I can update this weekend! Woohoo! I would've updated yesterday but we were out late, it's raining now, so I have time.**

Claire and Karen had cried in relief when Owen called and told them. He had told them that he had found Gray, and that Gray would be with him for the remainder of his time away. He had told them that Gray really needed him now after the attempt on his life. They were also relieved to hear that the person who was out to kill him was dead. Owen hated that he would undoubtedly get asked that in his next to interview.

Both Claire and Karen were relieved because Owen found Gray, but they weren't having much luck with the child they were watching. Zach's state had not improved at all. If anything he had gotten worse. He was paler than he was when he was first brought to the hospital, but he was still breathing. He was still alive, but there was no telling when he would wake up.

He had not had any seizures, and there were no signs of any post traumatic dreams. They wouldn't know if he had one unless he had a seizure. He could be having one at this very moment, and they wouldn't know unless a seizure went along with it.

Claire and Karen hadn't seen each other in seven years, and they haven't spent quality time together for an even longer time than that, but now it felt like they were closer than ever. It's was Claire's turn to be the strong one. She was struggling inside, but Karen's child was in a coma. Her husband had bailed on her, well they had kicked him out, and there was no telling if he would ever come back.

Claire wasn't doing much better than Karen was. She missed Owen. She had been avoiding high heels, but that didn't mean that she didn't have nightmares, or even thoughts about the time. She didn't call Owen because she needed to stay strong, for her sister. When he had called though, she was the one to talk to him, and Karen didn't question it. Claire needed to be the strong one now, as weak as she was. She assumed this was what Owen felt like when she was a wreck. She had always wondered why he stayed, now she understood.

She hadn't told Owen about Scott. That was one more thing he would have to worry about, and she didn't want to put that on his plate along with everything else. He didn't have to worry about Scott. He hated her; blamed her for all of this, but she didn't think her life was in danger because of it. Karen's feelings and her's were the only things at stake, and Owen didn't need to worry about that. He needed to worry about Gray, who was probably worse than he was when he left, or the fact that he refused to speak to anyone but Owen made them sure of it.

Everyday, Claire would wake up in the morning, run through a drive thru, get her and Karen breakfast, then go to the hospital. They would sit there for hours. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn't. Sometimes they watched TV, sometimes they didn't. They would watch Owen's interviews, if they were on, but he had pushed them all back a few days due to Gray's sudden arrival.

Today was the day of Owen's second interview. They had watched the first, and saw the disaster it had become. They had heard people yelling at Owen to get off the phone and him refusing before they cut the feed. Claire had been too distracted when talking to Owen to ask for the whole story, but they knew he had been talking to Gray.

Claire and Karen sat in Zach's room at the hospital, keeping a constant eye on him, and occasionally looking and picking at the lunch each of them had in their laps. They had both been getting better with their eating. Claire had gone up to eating three meals a day. Karen ate three meals as well, but didn't always finish them. She had gotten a lot better once she had heard about Gray.

Owen's interview was in a few hours. Claire hoped it would go better than the last one, and she was sure that it would. Karen looked up at Claire.

"Claire," Karen said, "do you think Gray's doing okay?"

"I...I honestly don't know," Claire said, "I really want to tell you that I think he's fine, but I don't know if he is,"

"I've lost my boys," Karen said, "I lost my boys when I sent them off to that island,"

"I'm sorry I couldn't help that. I would've sent them after the I-Rex with lethals the first time around to protect the boys, but I wasn't in charge then, and I wasn't even in charge when they did go after it with lethals,"

"And velociraptors," Karen said.

"And velociraptors," Claire smiled, "I honestly didn't become in charge until after the velociraptor thing blew up. When the workers began evacuating. And now I'm stuck with the aftermath,"

"What are you going to have to do?" Karen asked. Claire knew what she was doing. She was trying to get her mind off of her problems. Both Claire and Karen had done that since they were kids, and they had helped each other do it. Claire wasn't going to stop now.

"I have to...I honestly don't know. I probably have to organize something for the surviving workers, find some way to contain the remaining dinosaurs on the island. Who knows I may need to go back there," Claire said, "someone's going to have to maintain it. There are living, breathing, dinosaurs on that island. It may be an island, but how long before they learn how swim?"

"True," Karen said, shoving food into her mouth.

"I need to talk to Owen about the dinosaurs," Claire said, "he knows more about them than I do. To me, they were just a number. Then, I saw one of them dying and I...I just couldn't handle it. They were more than just a number at that point,"

Karen nodded then looked at her son. It was like if they stared at him long enough he would wake up. Claire knew it wasn't true, but they still hoped. They hoped that he would magically come out of it and be even better than before.

* * *

Gray was not doing well. His PTSD had only gotten worse without Owen. Ana had helped a little, but now that she was gone, his mind had been narrowed to Owen. In his mind, Owen was the only one who could protect him from everything in his head.

Gray and Owen would talk a lot. Gray would sit on the bed, and Owen in the chair. Owen had explained to him that he couldn't lay down because he saw that moment. Gray, being the genius that he was, understood. They would talk a lot, and watch the news. Sometimes they would talk about Jurassic World, sometimes they would talk about Owen, sometimes they would talk about Gray. It all depended on their mood, but mostly Gray mood. The only thing that was constant was every night Gray would sit in the chair next to Owen, and he would fall asleep. Occasionally, Owen would fall asleep with him, but not always.

Owen was going to go on a late show, so he didn't have to be at the studio until nine. Owen were in the shower and Gray was sitting in the chair. Gray had begun to eat again, so he was munching on a burger in the chair while watching a kids show on TV. He was normally one for documentaries, but he was too scared to watch them. He would rather watch pointless kids TV. He sat there watching it when it happened.

He heard a boom from outside. He screamed and covered his ears. Then another boom sounded. The shower turned off, and soon Owen was in the main room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He saw Gray in the chair, in tears now. Owen ran over and quickly pulled the boy into his arms.

"Shh. It's okay. You're okay, Gray," Owen said softly, petting the boy's head, "you are okay,"

"I see the gun," he said, and he began to hyperventilate. Owen pulled him closer.

"You're okay. You're safe," Owen said. Another boom came, and soon, multiple followed. Owen leaned back as far as he could, and pulled the curtains. He caught glimpse of fireworks in the sky. It all made sense now. Someone had tried to kill Gray; they had shot a gun at him, but Ana had jumped in front of the bullet. He hadn't been hit, but he was still traumatized by it.

The fireworks ended fifteen minutes later. It was the worst fifteen minutes Gray had had in a while. He had sat there in Owen's arms, hysteric, because everytime he heard a firework he saw that moment once again. The moment kept replaying in his mind until he heard another boom. Gray began slowly calming down after they had stopped, but it was the longest time he had ever taken to calm down, and Owen understood that.

"Owen," Gray finally said, "you can't leave,"

"Gray I have to," Owen said, "you can come with me,"

"I want to come with you," Gray said firmly.

"Okay. I'm just letting you know that if you come, they may not let you stay unless you come on TV with me," Owen told him.

"I'm don't care. I'm still coming," Gray said, wrapping his arms around Owen's neck. Owen nodded and then thought. He would absolutely hate if anyone made Gray make the choice. Go on TV and talk about these horrifying events, or be separated from Owen. Owen would want to punch that person in the face, but he had already walked out of an interview and that already made him look bad. So he would just have to sit back and suck it up.

* * *

Claire had been kicked out of the hospital at nine, like she was every night. The first night she was kicked out at seven, but when nurses learned of their situation, they let her stay until nine. Claire sat in the hotel room. It was now eleven, and Owen's second interview was coming on. Her jaw dropped when she saw Gray sitting next to him. She immediately ripped out her phone as they began introductions and stuff. She texted Owen.

 **Why the** _ **hell**_ **is Gray up there with you?!**

Then she texted Karen.

 **Are you watching this?!**

Karen responded within a matter of seconds.

 **Yes. Why the hell is Gray on TV? He won't even talk to us!**

Claire was outraged as she quickly typed.

 **I texted Owen. He obviously hasn't responded**

Karen had been typing while she was.

 **You need to put your phone down and watch this.**

Claire listened to her sister. She plugged her phone in on the bedside table and looked at the TV. The host, Kevin Rage had just asked Owen what his role in the park was, and how he had gotten it.

"I was the velociraptor trainer," Owen said, "I was pulled right from the military. I had studied animal behaviorism while I was at the academy,"

"Interesting," Kevin said, "and what about you, Gray?"

"Gray is Claire's nephew," Owen said, "him and his older brother were visiting during the accident,"

"Yes, the accident. I was getting to that," Kevin said, "how did that start,"

"So I was asked to assess their new 'attraction' the Indominus Rex. There were claw marks on the wall that made it seem like she climbed out. We sweeped with thermal, and there was nothing, so myself, a security guard, and a tech went into the paddock to investigate while Claire went back to the control room,"

"And that's when things went bad?"

"Yes," Owen said, "she had changed her body temperature so she wasn't picked up by the thermal scan. She lured us in there. She escaped the paddock, and I was the only one who made it out,"

"And what about you, Gray? Wanna tell us where you were during the accident?" Kevin asked. Owen opened his mouth to speak, but just about everyone behind the cameras held up their hands for him to stop talking, "Gray?"

Gray got up, and walked off the set, behind the cameras. Multiple supervisors were grabbing him, trying to force him back to his seat, but Gray was fighting. That's when Owen stood up.

"Let him go," Owen said, "he will stand right here for the remainder of my interview or I will leave,"

No one budged. Owen reached for Gray's hand.

"Come on, Gray. Let's go," Owen said. Gray took his hand, and the two began walking for the door.

"Wait!" someone called. Owen turned back around, "he can stay back here. Please, finish the interview,"

"Of course," Owen said, leading Gray back towards the stage. He let go of Gray's hand right before the cameras then walked back to his seat. He then began to answer Kevin's question from before about Gray.

He went on to explain all the details of the accident all the way up to the mega dinosaur fight at the end, and the extraction of everyone on the island. Owen apologized for what had happened earlier, both on screen and off, then he and Gray want back to the hotel.

Gray cried when they returned to the hotel. He apologized for what had happened, but he said he couldn't handle it. Owen had told him everything was good, that he wouldn't have made him do it if he didn't have to, and from now on, he Owen would make that threat to everyone.

He had gotten Claire's text, and responded, explaining what had happened. Claire understood, but he had the feeling her, Karen, and Scott weren't all too happy with him. He thought about the boy. Yes he was broken, but he was doing really well, he was really proud of him. Owen thought that if the he could finish out this trip, he could do anything with this condition. Owen also knew that for that to happen, he couldn't leave him, and he never planned to do that. Ever.

 **So that's that. Told you the PTSD would come back. Now tell me, would you like some more sisterly relationship with Claire and Karen, father/son relationship with Gray and Owen, or more Karen/Scott relationship drama? Claire/Owen actual relationship is totally going to keep happening I can't describe how much I love them. OTP(one of them. lol). Until next time.**

 **-Croc9400**


	9. Chapter 9: Return

**Chapter 9: Return**

 **I just want to say, I look at your requests, and I try my best to work them into the story if it doesn't effect my original plan too much. Your request may not show up in the immediate next chapter, but it will show up eventually.**

 _Two weeks later_

Owen had been through fourteen interviews since the last with no problems what-so-ever. He answered the same questions over and over, and Gray hadn't been asked to answer any. Gray had been doing a lot better especially because he knew the harassing interviews had stopped. Owen on the other hand was getting worse.

Owen had thought it was important that no one saw him break before, but now it was even more imperative. Gray was more broken than before. Between the running away, Ana, and Zach, it was all too much for him. Owen knew that it takes ten times longer to put yourself back together after you fall apart, but Owen fear that for Gray, this was going to be impossible.

He's only ten years old. He is a genius, but being a genius doesn't help with your emotional state. It makes it worse. The fact that he can comprehend and he is aware of everything that's going on with him makes it worse. Any normal ten year old you can tell them they have PTSD, but they will just assume it's bad dreams. Gray knew every little thing there was to know about the disorder. And even though you're aware of it, doesn't make it any easier.

Every night at the hotel, Owen would sit in his chair, watching TV. He had stopped watching the news a while ago, and he would just watch whatever was on. Gray would lay on the bed, and read. Everywhere they went, Owen would go to a nearby convenient store, and pick Gray up the fattest books he could find, regardless of what they were about. Owen and Gray had figured out that was Gray needed to get his mind off things. He needed to read useless facts about useless things to keep him from seeing dinosaurs during the day.

Owen couldn't shield him at night though. Almost every night, Gray would wake up, and crawl into the chair with Owen. Owen always told himself he was awake when Gray came in next to him, but he almost never was. Owen had gotten better with actually going to sleep, but he would always wake up from nightmares.

Sometimes he woke up before Gray joined him in the chair, sometimes after. Either way, he couldn't make a big deal over his nightmares. Gray needed to know that Owen was strong enough to fight off the dinosaurs in his head, even though he was weakening by the day.

He knew exactly what he needed. He needed Claire. He talked to her on the phone almost every night, but that wasn't enough. He needed to be with her, feel her presence. It comforted him, gave him motivation to be strong for the boys. Zach would want Owen to be strong for Gray, especially when he couldn't be.

Zach hadn't gotten better in the last two weeks. He had had two seizures which meant he was having dreams while in the coma. This meant he was getting worse. This was all the more reason for Owen to be there when he woke up. If he ever woke up at all.

Zach and Gray were at the top of Owen's list of worries, but there was a longer list. Claire had finally told him what had happened between Scott and Karen. Scott hadn't come back. He hadn't answered any of Karen's calls or texts. Both Owen and Claire had tried with no results. He was just gone. He had left his wife and both of his sons in the time they needed him the most.

Owen's own problems were at the bottom of his worries list, but they deserved a spot at the top. He was losing substantial amounts of sleep for two main reasons. His nightmares were getting worse, and he spent more and more time each night falling to sleep after waking up from one. He was also no closer to being able to lie down on a bed without seeing his moment of true terror. He had tried a few times on the trip while Gray was in the shower, but he always saw it, and he always pulled himself together before Gray got out. So he was stuck sleeping on a chair. He had gotten better at making the chair more comfortable, but that only made it a little easier. When Gray would join him in the chair, it got even harder for him to fall asleep.

Owen thought that Gray didn't know, but he did. It had taken him some time, but he had figured it out just this morning. They were in Chicago now, and Owen was to finish up the news interviews here before they moved on to magazines which were stationed in odd places all over the country. Keeping up his promise, Owen had bought him so fat books at a nearby CVS. One of the ones Owen had gotten him was on the human mind. What Owen didn't realize when he bought it that there was an entire section on mental disorders, and inside was a section on PTSD.

Gray had read it, and everything he read he either saw in Claire, Zach, Owen, or himself. He had then thought back to the Owen who had found him in New York. That was a different Owen. Owen had been getting worse and worse, and Gray knew it. He needed to talk to Claire.

Gray didn't want Owen to know that he knew. So many different things could happen, according to the book. The possibilities were endless ranging from just breaking down and crying, something Gray wasn't sure he could handle, to leaving and never coming back. That Gray knew he couldn't handle. He figured out what he needed to do. He needed to put Owen first. He knew Owen had been putting Gray's well being before his own, but now Gray needed to return the favor. He needed to ignore his own fear. He needed to talk to Claire.

* * *

Claire and Karen sat in Zach's room with Karen's laptop resting on her lap. They were watching a livestream of Owen's daytime talk show interview. Claire always got butterflies whenever Owen mentioned her in his interviews. The way he said her name made her wish the two of them were just back in their hotel room, curled under a blanket on the chair.

Claire's phone began ringing. Karen gave her a look then began to turn the volume down on the laptop. She stood and walked to the other end of the room. She removed her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. There was no caller ID, but she picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" Claire said.

"Cl-Claire," Gray said shakily.

"Gray!" Claire cried happily. Karen placed the laptop on Claire's chair and jumped out of her own. She ran over to Claire, and got her ear as close to the phone as she could.

"Owen needs your help," Gray said quickly and quietly. He still only wanted to talked to Owen so he was keeping this talking to a minimum, "he's doing worse. He needs you. You need to get him to come home,"

"Okay. Okay, I can do that sweetie," Claire said. Karen was practically begging for her to hand the phone over. After Claire was certain Gray had nothing else to say, she handed the phone to Karen.

"Gray, sweetheart it's mommy," Karen said quickly. Then she paused. There was a tone on the other end of the line. Gray had hung up. He was gone, "no, no, no,"

Karen immediately went and called the number back. She waited and waited but Gray didn't pick up. She tried again and again until she had broken down to tears. Claire pulled her sister into her arms, as she cried into her shoulder. A tear fell from Claire's eye as well. Then they both heard a bouncing. They looked back at Zach and saw him bouncing on the bed. They heard the heart monitor speeding up. Karen screamed as Claire began moving them out of the room. Doctors and nurses ran in, pushing past them to get to Zach's bed. Karen stood sobbing in the hallway while clinging tightly to Claire. Then the two of them heard a scream. Not just any scream; the scream of a teenage boy.

Karen immediately ran back into the room, and Claire followed close behind. She pushed past the nurses to see her son sitting up on the bed. There were tears streaming down his still pale face, and he was hyperventilating. He was curled up in a ball trying to push himself against the wall; trying to get away from the people.

"MOVE!" Karen said, pushing nurses out of the way, climbing onto the bed with her son. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He screamed. Karen began crying again when she saw how Zach looked at her. The look was something she wouldn't be able to shake from her mind. Zach looked at Karen like he didn't even know her.

"Claire," Karen said softly, sliding off the bed. Zach perked up a little at the sound of that name. Claire moved closer to Zach. Zach recognized her. Claire placed her hand on Zach's shoulder, and he calmed down slightly, but it wasn't enough.

"You have got to calm him down," one of the doctors said to Karen. She looked at her son. He was shaking as Claire softly talked to him. His breathing had calmed slightly, but his heart rate and tears were still going strong. If he recognized Claire, then he would recognize Owen, and he had been so comfortable with Owen before, maybe he would be again. She needed Owen.

* * *

Owen sat in the green room of a daytime talk show in Chicago. As the time had wore on, he had been doing more and more daytime stuff. Of course he did daytime stuff in the big cities as well, but if he was in one of the smaller big cities, like Chicago, he would do more daytime stuff. He had also shared his story with a bunch of nighttime news people, and they were bored of him.

His phone was across the room, and he was munching on a cupcake. Multiple cupcakes if he were to tell the truth. There were fruits on the table, but the cupcakes looked more appealing. They were decorated with the shows logo, and tasted delicious. Then Owen's phone rang. He shoved the last of the cupcake in his hand into his mouth and walked over to where he left it. He picked it up and answered the phone.

"Karen?" Owen said, his mouth still full of cupcake. He was desperately trying to swallow it.

"You and Gray need to come back!" Karen was crying.

"Why?! What happened?!" Owen asked, panicking. He had swallowed the cupcake and he was now collecting his things to leave.

"Zach woke up," Karen said, "but he doesn't...he doesn't remember me. He seems to recognize Claire and find some comfort in her, but I think he would do better with you. So please _please_ come back,"

"I will be there in no more than five hours," Owen said.

"Thank you!" Karen cried. Owen hung up the phone and walked out of the green room. He was stopped before he made it ten feet by the supervisor.

"Mr. Grady," she said, "where are you going? You still have more of your interview to do"

"I'm sorry I have to go," Owen said, "you can say the Owen Grady press tour is officially cancelled," he began walking away.

"Until further notice?" she called after him.

"Don't know yet," Owen called back, heading for the exit. This was the third interview he's bailed on, but it didn't matter. The media could hate on him all they wanted, Claire and the boys were his number one priority. He marched out of the studio and hailed a cab.

Ten minutes later, he burst into the hotel room. Gray looked up from his book. There was something about the way Owen walked that made him curious. It was like he had a new sense of purpose. Maybe Claire had called him.

"Gray pack up your stuff. Quickly," Owen said, going for his suitcase, "we're going home,"

"Claire called you?" Gray asked hopefully.

"No, your mom did," Owen said, "Zach's up,"

Gray froze. Was that a lie? Had Claire told Karen to call Owen and lie to him, say that Zach was awake? No, even if Claire asked her to do that, his mom would never agree to it. Not with something as serious as Zach waking up. Gray quickly began packing his books into the suitcase Owen had bought him to hold his books.

In twenty minutes, they were ready to leave. They went, checked out of the hotel, and went outside for a cab. Thankfully, this was one of the hotels Owen didn't have to pay for. They got in a cab and would be at the airport in twenty minutes. That's when Owen looked for a flight.

"You haven't gotten a flight?" Gray asked nervously.

"I found out we were leaving a half hour ago," Owen replied, "I told your mom five hours, and if we can get a flight within the next four hours, we're good, otherwise, we're driving,"

"Driving?" Gray seemed outraged. Then he crunched some quick numbers in his head, and found out it was only about a three hour drive from where they were to where they lived, or the hospital Zach was at.

"Yes, driving," Owen said, "but we won't have to. We're cutting it close, but we've got two open seats on the next flight to Wisconsin, which is in an hour and a half,"

"Okay," Gray calmed a little.

"Gray, I want to say I'm really proud of you for calling Claire," Owen said, "and I'm sorry you found out. I was trying to shield you from the truth. I know it's not the right thing to do, but I tried,"

"How do you know?" Gray asked softly.

"I studied human and animalistic behavior in college. I knew when you knew about me," Owen said, "and as for Claire, she just texted me, telling me that you called, and to tell you that this is no joke. That Zach is really up,"

All the doubt in Gray's mind went away, and he was happy it was true. He had a good feeling it was, but there was always that doubt in his mind. Owen was going to be back with Claire. Besides the fact that his brother was awake after two weeks, that was the most important thing. Claire would help Owen be strong again so he could help him and Zach. Both the brothers desperately needed that right now.

* * *

Owen and Gray barely made their flight, but they made it. They sat on the plane for an hour, and got on the road to the hospital with two hours to spare. They would be at the hospital in less than a half hour.

"Gray," Owen said, "I know you're not comfortable with talking to anyone other than me, but when we get to the hospital, at least give your mother a hug, maybe try to talk to her. One of her sons doesn't remember her, and she hasn't seen the other in two weeks,"

"Okay," Gray said, not even looking at Owen. He had been staring out the window since they got on the plane.

"Again, I am really really proud of you for calling Claire for me," Owen said.

"I know you've been putting my well being before yours since we got back," Gray said, "I thought it was time to return the favor,"

"Whatever the reason, I'm really proud of you," Owen said. Gray nodded and retreated back into his mind.

They arrived at the hospital, and Owen ran inside. Gray was on his heels. He took the stairs because he felt they were faster than an elevator. He didn't even bother to knock. He burst into the room.

Zach hadn't gotten better within the last few hours. He hadn't stopped crying; his breathing had slowly, but it was still borderline hyperventilation. He still shook and he hadn't said a word. He had stayed in the little ball in the corner of the bed with Claire's hand resting firmly on his shoulder, and her whispering softly to him.

Everyone looked up when Owen burst into the room. Immediately everyone's eyes went to him. Owen scanned the room. He saw Karen's relief, Zach's fear, turning to calm, and Claire's gratefulness. When their eyes met, they both felt something. They really needed each other.

Then everyone's eyes went to Gray who had followed Owen into the room. Gray did what Owen had told him, and went to give his mother a hug. Seconds later, the eyes were back on Owen. Owen moved slowly into the room, and next to Claire. He had noticed Zach's breathing had slowly down when he had seen Owen. Owen slipped a hand through the top of Claire's shirt, and over her bare back. His touch sent shivers down her spine. She loved it.

Owen looked at Zach. The boy's heart monitor had been going down since Owen had entered the room. His breathing had calmed down and the shaking had stopped along with the tears. For the first time in the past two weeks, Zach felt truly safe.

Zach pulled Owen into a hug, and he returned it gratefully. Zach didn't want to let go. In his nightmares, he was almost always saved after he had been truly terrified. There were only three times he wasn't, and those were the three times that had caused the seizures. Every time it was this man who saved him, and the redheaded woman was always with him. Normally, it was him and little boy who were in danger of being eaten by a dinosaur, and they were always saved by the man and the redhead. Sometimes though, the little boy would die, and he would be devastated. Those were the only four people he recognized, but he couldn't name any of them.

"Who are you?" Zach asked so softly only Owen could hear it.

"My name is Owen Grady," Owen said, "how do you know me?"

Owen knew exactly what was going on. It was amnesia. Owen also knew how Zach knew him, Claire, and probably Gray as well. They had all been in his dreams he had in his coma. Owen had probably always saved him in the dreams, and Claire had probably always been with him.

"This is your aunt, Claire Dearing," Owen said, introducing the boy to the redhead, "and over there is your little brother Gray, and…"

"Why is his name Gray?" Zach asked.

"I-I don't know," Owen said, "but you can ask your mother, Karen, who's standing right next to him,"

"Can't you tell me? Aren't you my father?" Zach asked. That hurt. He was going to be in for a rough story, and so was Gray. That was something else Owen had kept from the boy.

"No I'm not your father," Owen said, almost regretfully.

"So you're my uncle?" Zach asked. Owen shook his head. Zach looked at him, confused.

"I'm…" Owen hesitated, "I'm your protector,"

"Really?" Zach asked.

"Yes. That's how we met. I was protecting you, and your brother," Owen thought, "now again, how do you know me?"

"You saved me, in my nightmares," Zach said softly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Owen said. Zach nodded.

Zach's dreams were variations of all the times they were chased by dinosaurs. In the gyrosphere, through the field, in the water, on the main street both during the pteranodon attack and the dinosaur battle, and in the back of the truck with the velociraptors. He was doing a pretty good job recounting the nightmares that ended well. He was trying not to think of the others that ended badly. He was doing well until he was handled a glass of water.

He screamed when the liquid touched his lips. He dropped the glass and jumped out of the bed as it was soaked up by the sheets. He crashed into the IV stand. He looked up and saw the liquid. He backed away then saw the little plastic tube running from the bag of fluid to his arm. He screamed and tried to pull the IV out. His heart monitor was beeping fast as the boy began to shake and cry and hyperventilate. Owen pulled the IV out of Zach's arm, and pulled the boy into a hug.

"Sir, you have to leave," the doctor said. Owen shook his head.

"Good luck keeping him calm without me," Owen replied.

"We're going to give him a light sedative, so he can sleep," the doctor said, "visiting hours are over. You must leave,"

"Fine," Owen said, "but the second he wakes up, you take that IV out of him, understand?"

"I don't take orders from you," the doctor said.

"You will when I'm the only one who can keep him calm," Owen said, and reached out a hand for Claire's. Claire stood and took it. They watched as doctors and nurses held Zach down to get the needle into the boy's arm. They wouldn't let Owen help, as much of a help as he would be. He finally went limb, and Owen and Claire turned to go. They stopped to say goodbye to Karen and Gray, and then they were on their way.

* * *

Claire and Owen walked back into the hotel together. Claire had her fingers intertwined with Owen's and her head rested on his shoulder. His suitcase wheeled behind him. They walked past the front desk when they were stopped.

"Mr. Grady, Ms. Dearing," the man said. He produced an envelope from below the desk, "this came for you today,"

"Thank you," Claire said, taking it since she was the only one with a free hand. They began heading for the elevator.

"It's great to have you back, Mr. Grady," the man called.

"Great to be back," Owen replied as he pressed the elevator button. The paparazzi had long cleared out of the lobby. They didn't care about Claire alone, but now that Owen was back, he assumed the paparazzi would be back as well.

Claire pulled him into the hotel room by the collar of his shirt. She dropped the letter on the floor as her hands travelled his body, then slipping under his shirt and pulling it over his head.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you too," Owen replied, "but we got mail. At a hotel. Don't you think we should open it?"

"Not until we're done," she said, and kissed him once again. She always had a way of reminding him why he stayed.

When they were done, Owen went to pick the letter up off the floor. They sat cuddling in the chair. Owen opened it and Claire read over his shoulder.

 _ **From the desk of the Secretary of Homeland Security**_

 _ **Dear Ms. Dearing and Mr. Grady,**_

 _ **It has been nearly three weeks since the incident on Isla Nublar, and all that has been done to address the issue are some interviews. You are both recognized and praised for your bravery in saving the lives of twenty thousand people, but nearly fifty people lost their lives before that happened. The theme park was not evacuated at the first sign of danger, which could be considered a felony. Ms. Dearing, as the highest ranking officer left of Jurassic World, you were expected to do something within the last three weeks, but nothing has happened. This cabinet has decided we should step in. There are still living, breathing dinosaurs on Isla Nublar, and it is not safe that they are there unsupervised. Someone has to go to the island, and make sure everything stays status quo, and Ms. Dearing, as the highest ranking Jurassic World officer still alive, you will be the one to go. Mr. Grady, you are one of the leading dinosaur handlers at the park, so you will be joining her on the island. You will be transferred to the island and it will become your primary place of residence. More information will be given to you as the time of your relocation approaches.**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **Jeh Johnson**_

 _ **U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security**_

Owen and Claire looked at each other after finishing the letter. There were already tears pooling in Claire's eyes, and Owen's were to come. Both of them were horrified. They would be spending the rest of their lives, alone, in Jurassic World.

 **Sorry for jumping ahead two weeks, I just didn't want to keep writing the same thing over and over and over. I wanted to get to...well everything that happened in this chapter.**

 **-Croc9400**


	10. Chapter 10: Brothers

**Chapter 10: Brothers**

 **You know how I stay on track with these characters so well and I don't veer off to what I them to be? The clip on Youtube of the bungalow scene. Here's the link :)** **watch?v=MfZwU24LWIA &list=LLQCilK_w7frEKN8uIQWn0yw&index=1**

Claire looked at Owen and Owen looked at Claire. This reminded him of their first night in the hotel, right after Jurassic World. Now they were going back. They were going back to that cursed park, and they were go to have to the Mitchells behind.

Owen couldn't worry about them now though. He had to worry about Claire. She was not okay. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was shaking, thinking of everything that had happened to her and her family on that island. Owen got up off the chair and pulled her into a tight hug. She sucked in a deep breath as she clung to him. He was her only support. He was the one she would be spending her entire life with, and both of them were disappointed they weren't doing it by choice.

At the time, that was what both of them wanted. Both of them wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but it was different when you couldn't choose to. It was different. Owen wasn't going to get down on one knee, and beg her to spend the rest of her life with him. The government was forcing her to spend the rest of her life with him. She didn't know if she wanted that yet. She needed it now, but would she want it forever?

Owen wanted it forever. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with the woman in his arms. The question in his mind was, did she want to? He had been interacting with her for more than five years, and she certainly had mixed feelings about him. In the past few weeks, she had been traumatized, and he had always been the one to protect her. He had finally thought he'd gotten her, but did he really? When she got over her PTSD, would she want anything to do with him anymore?

She was going to have to because they were being forced to stay on that island together. They were going to be living with dinosaurs for the rest of their lives. Claire was most concerned about keeping the dinos fed and under control, and living with Owen. Owen was most concerned about recapturing the island from the dinos, and how Claire would treat him as the years went on.

The two could go back to just being co-workers, and if they were going to do that, they would have to do it before they left for the island. Owen didn't think Claire could do that. Not yet. It wasn't the upcoming year with Claire he was worried about, it was the years to come after that.

Claire was concerned about the same thing. She knew she was clinging to Owen because he made her feel safe. She wondered how she would feel towards him once she got over her PTSD. Would she feel the way she did before? Disgusted and appalled at the man and his manners, or would she love him? She sure felt that now, as well as before their first date, but after that all of those feelings disappeared. Then the adrenaline of the incident had brought those feelings back, but were they here to stay?

"We need to tell Karen, Zach and Gray," Owen whispered.

"I know," Claire said softly, "but I don't wanna leave just yet,"

"Me either," Owen replied. He pushed her away a little, but then bent down and kissed her. She felt the passion when she kissed him, and he felt the same. This made them both think that they were meant to stay together, but the island could bring other feelings. Claire ran her fingers through Owen's hair, and Owen ran his hands along her body. They stayed kissing until they were both out of breath.

"Owen I don't wanna go back," Claire said, hugging Owen tightly. His touch always comforted her.

"I know. I know, I don't either," Owen said. Now it was his turn for tears. He had good memories with the raptors, and that was just about it. He had no positive relationships with any of the other dinosaurs. He let a few tears run down his face. When Claire felt one land on her shoulder she looked up. She met Owen's eyes, and for the first time she felt she was staring into his soul. She raised her hand to his face, and wiped the tears away before kissing him once again.

* * *

Zach woke up slowly. He panicked, not remembering where he was. He heard a fast beeping and then shuffling feet. He looked up and saw a small boy, the one with the weird name...Gray, walking towards him quickly. He saw his mother still asleep on a chair. Gray placed a hand on top of Zach's.

"You're okay, Zach," Gray said, remembering everything Owen had done for him, "you're okay. Everything's okay. We're off the island,"

Zach nodded, and he slowly began calming down, until he saw the needle in his arm. the heart monitor began speeding up again as he saw the liquid dripping into his body. Gray quickly grabbed hold of the needle, and removed it. Zach once again began to calm down.

"Do you mind?" Gray asked, gesturing to the empty spot in the bed. Zach shook his head. This little boy was his brother, and he was in all his dreams, maybe he could give him some answers.

"Gray," Zach said, "what happened? With the dinosaurs?"

Should Gray tell him? Was that really a smart thing to do? Would he be more traumatized than he was now if he knew what had happened? Although if Zach's dreams were anything like Gray's, nothing could be more traumatizing.

"Do you remember the theme park Jurassic World?" Gray asked. Zach thought for a moment. The name rang a bell. It was a theme park with living dinosaurs in it. How that was possible, he couldn't remember. He remembered him knowing someone who was someway associated with the park, but he couldn't remember who it was. He remembered talking about visiting, but he couldn't remember actually going, although something told him he had.

"Yes," Zach replied.

"Well, we went there on vacation," Gray said, "we were supposed to be with Aunt Claire, but she had a lot of work to do. We went on the gyrosphere ride. Which was a little bubble that we could drive around with all of the harmless dinosaurs,"

"I drove it?" Zach asked.

"Yes. And then you drove us into a restricted area. We saw four ankylosaurus, and we were attacked by the Indominus Rex," Gray said. A look a realization crossed Zach's face. He remembered that. That was one of the things he always saw in his dreams. Him in Gray inside a little bubble he was driving around, and being attacked by a big scary dinosaur while looking at four not so scary dinosaurs.

"I remember that," Zach said softly. Gray pulled his brother into a hug which he graciously accepted, "what happened next?"

"We had to run, and we jumped into the water," Gray said. Zach froze. That was it. That was the dream that he had always died in. That was the dream they weren't always saved in. Gray hardly ever made it out of that dream alive. Zach squeezed his brother tighter. This was a sign to Gray to not mention anything more about that part of their trip.

"Then we rigged an old Jurassic Park jeep, and drove it back to main park where we found Owen and Aunt Claire," Gray said.

"And there were dinosaurs flying all around us?" Zach asked. Yet another scene from his dreams that he remembered. He felt happy when Gray nodded. At least he was remembering some things.

"Then Owen went after the Indominus Rex with his raptors," Gray said, "then the raptors turned on us, and we electrocuted it from the back of a van,"

"I don't remember that," Zach said softly. That sounded like something totally badass, so of course he didn't remember it. Of course he only remembered the traumatizing stuff, not the cool stuff.

"Then there was the big battle. I was nearly eaten by the I-Rex…"

"I thought it was me," Zach said.

"What?" Gray asked.

"In my dreams. We're in a little gift shop with the man, umm...Owen, and I'm dragged off by the dinosaur. Sometimes you grab my hand and get dragged out after me, sometimes you don't" Zach said. Tears began running down his cheeks. Gray hugged his brother. He remembered when it used to be the other way around. The two of them would be sitting in bed together, but Zach would have his arms around Gray, and Gray would be the more broken one. Now Zach didn't even remember that.

"And that was it," Gray said, "Claire released the T-Rex, and the T-Rex, one of the raptors, and the mosasaurus defeated the I-Rex,"

"Okay," Zach said. But how did he end up here, in the hospital. Did he really want to know? Was it right to push the question? He hadn't seen any physical injuries on himself, so he knew he wasn't here because of what happened on the island. No, something else happened, and he determined he needed to know what it was.

"How did I end up in the hospital?" Zach asked. Gray froze. He hoped his brother wouldn't ask, but of course he did. He wasn't a genius, but he was still curious. Gray didn't think that Zach would be able to handle it. He could barely handle knowing what happened on the island, could he handle knowing he had attempted suicide? Gray looked at his brother, which was mistake. If he hadn't seen that look, he may be able to refuse, but now he couldn't. Zach was so desperate, Gray had to tell him.

"A few days after, when we got home, it was just the two of us, really," Gray said, "we refused to speak to mom and dad, and eventually Aunt Claire and Owen came to help us. You started therapy, but then we had...an exchange. You had been refusing to sleep, and you finally passed out from exhaustion. You had a nightmare and woke up. I tried to get you to call Owen, but you said you wouldn't call him for something as stupid as a nightmare,"

"And I'm assuming that hurt you," Zach said. Gray nodded, "I'm sorry,"

"I called Owen for a nightmare. I looked up to you, Claire, and Owen the most. You saying that killed me inside, and after you realized what you said, it killed you too. I decided to run away. You did something else," Gray paused, hoping this would be enough. He didn't want to be the one to tell his brother that he had committed suicide. Gray himself was just starting to understand why a person would commit suicide. He sighed.

"What did I do?" Zach asked.

"You…" Gray swallowed, "you overdosed,"

Zach thought that the hardest thing he would have to comprehend was that he had actually jumped into the water with his brother in real life. Now he knew that he was wrong. He had attempted _suicide_? He didn't think that he would be someone to do that, but if he was as depressed as Gray made him seem to be, then hurt his broken baby brother, he might. This was terrible. He began crying again.

"I was a thousand miles away when I found out," Gray said, he sniffled, trying to hold back his tears, "and I didn't come home. I'm so sorry,"

The boys sat crying on the bed together. Gray was so happy that his brother was awake. He wasn't the same as he was before, which in a way was a good thing. Although, Gray wasn't the same person either. Neither of them was the same, and neither was their relationship. They would have to start fresh, and bonding over trauma was a good way to start out.

"Are you going to be okay?" Gray asked.

"If you and Owen and Claire are here, I think I will be," Zach said, wrapped his arms around his little brother, "thank you for telling me. I could tell it was hard,"

"It was, I didn't know if I should or not," Gray said, "you're welcome. I'm glad I did,"

The brothers sat in silence for a little while when they heard a phone ring. Gray looked at his brother, who gave him a look saying it was okay if he went and got it. Gray slid off the bed and went over to his mother's purse. She wasn't in the room anymore, and Gray just assumed she had snuck out sometime during their moment to use the bathroom or something. Gray removed the phone from the purse and picked it up. It was Owen.

"Hi Owen," Gray said softly.

"Hi Gray," Owen replied, "how's everything going there?"

"Pretty good. I, umm, I told Zach everything that happened, and why he's in the hospital,"

"So he trusts you? You're building up a relationship?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, I think so. It seems to be going well," Gray said, glancing at his brother and offering a weak smile. It was returned in the same manner.

"Good because, umm, I have some bad news," Owen said, "Claire and I, we...we have to go back to the island. And, umm, we have to live there. Forever,"

"Forever?! You're leaving us?!" Gray said, starting to cry, "you _can't_ do that! We need you guys!"

"We don't have a choice," Owen said softly.

"When do you leave?" Gray asked.

"We don't know. We'll be over as soon as visiting hours open," Owen said.

"Okay," Gray said, hanging up the phone. Zach was now standing at the edge of the bed, leaning on it slightly for support. He hadn't walked in two weeks, he needed the support to stand. He gave his younger brother a questioning look. Gray walked over, and pulled his brother into a tight hug. Gray felt most of his brother's weight fall onto his body, but he didn't care. It made him feel strong that his brother would confide in him so much. And he was going to have to start doing that a lot more now.

"What happened?" Zach asked, wrapping his arms around his younger brother, while putting most of his weight on the young boy.

"Owen and Claire...they're leaving," Gray said, "they need to go back to the island,"

Zach had the same reaction Gray did. He was in shock, but then began crying. Their support system was leaving. Soon, they would only have each other. And although they were a good at calming each other down, they wouldn't be the ones who saved their lives. They weren't the ones who made them feel safe. They could calm each other down after their nightmares, but they were the one who was going to prevent them. They could help each other out just fine, but both the boys found it impossible to imagine surviving with this condition without Owen and Claire.

 **I have been asked a lot about adding more brotherly fluff since that obviously has been absent in the last few chapters, so this is the brotherly fluff chapter.**

 **-Croc9400**


	11. Chapter 11: Is it love?

**Chapter 11: Is it love?**

 **I'm just saying. This is fiction. Not everything will be 100% accurate. I'm making it up as I go along :)**

Claire and Owen sat silently in the chair. Some how, the press had gotten hold of the information the couple had received earlier that night. They dreaded having to go to the lobby in the morning, since they both knew it would be flooded with cameras and news anchors, and anyone trying to get a quote from them.

Claire clung tightly to Owen. They both were thinking of the terrible memories they had from that island. Neither of them thought of the good ones. Claire only thought of how she had messed up, and she was convinced she would mess up again. Owen thought of how he couldn't save everything. How he couldn't save over fifty people. Plus there own personal horrible memories. Owen knew he needed to get their minds off the subject of that island.

"You know, I never got my chance to ask you questions about yourself," Owen remarked.

"You didn't," Claire said. She almost laughed. She understood what Owen was trying to do, and she appreciated it. She needed to get her mind off that cursed island filled with those horrid creatures.

"I planned to ask you at dinner that night, but you know…" Owen said.

"Yeah I do," Claire replied, remembering that terrible night, but it was still better than this one.

"So should I start?" Owen asked.

"Sure," Claire smiled.

"So. How old were you when you first became obsessed with dinosaurs?" Owen asked. He couldn't think of anything original, so he thought back to the questions she had asked him.

"I never really was obsessed with dinosaurs," Claire said, "I mean, they intrigued me, but they were never really an obsession,"

"Then how did you end up working at a dinosaur theme park?" Owen asked.

"There was a management job open that paid decent money, provided a place to live, and it would get me away from my parents," Claire said.

"Why'd you want to get away from your parents?" Owen asked.

"They just always got on my nerves. And they always kinda pushed me aside; ignored me. They always seemed to put Karen in the limelight. Karen was the cheerleader, Karen was the popular one, Karen was the pretty one. Claire was nerdy one,"

"I disagree with that statement," Owen said, "you are the pretty one,"

She smiled at his kind gesture. He moved his head slightly so that his lips could reach hers. They sat in an awkward position for a moment while he kissed her. Then they both got too uncomfortable to bear, and moved back.

"When was the last time you saw them?" Owen asked.

"At their funeral," Claire said, "it was the only time I left the island after I moved there. It was seven years ago. Died in a car crash with some drunk,"

"Oh. I'm sorry," Owen said sincerely.

"Ah it's okay. I wasn't all too upset to begin with," Claire said, "I'm over it,"

"Okay, ummm…" Owen thought of his next question, "where'd you go to college?"

"Georgetown," Claire said, "I wanted to be a doctor, but I flunked my MCATs. So my parents, being who they were, suggested I just go into business,"

"And you listened?" Owen asked. He knew the answer, but he still asked.

"Yeah, and look where that got me," Claire said.

"So what did you like to do when you were little?" Owen asked.

"I studied a lot, read a lot. Especially textbooks. I used to scoff when the school librarians would say that the non-fiction books were ones that weren't read cover to cover and the fiction books were," Claire laughed, and Owen joined her. He remembered librarians saying that as well.

"What is the funniest thing you ever read?" Owen asked.

"Umm...in middle school drama, we had to do a 16th century theatre, and I read in a book that men always used to stand with their calves out to attract women," Claire said laughing. Owen joined her in laughing once again. They both needed to laugh.

"Okay. Tell me a funny story," Owen said, "something from your childhood,"

"I don't really have any," Claire said, "I was ignored and bullied and...well, I was the girl who was always picked last,"

"Well know I picked you first," Owen said. Claire shifted in the chair so she was straddling Owen. She placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned forward and kissed him.

"I love you," Owen said softly. Then he shut his mouth. He had absolutely said that impulsively. She wasn't sure she felt the same way, and he didn't want to be hurt. Although, she was sitting on top of him, kissing him. She had slept with him, it was in the shower but still. She seemed to love him, but could it really be love, or was she just clinging to him for support?

Owen had said it. He had said those three words. Claire panicked. She had never said those words to anyone, and she didn't know if Owen was the one she wanted to say them to. Was she just clinging to him for support, or did she actually love him? That was the question. She needed to make a choice, and she needed to make it now. She pulled away from Owen and looked him in the eye.

"I…"

* * *

 **Isla Nublar, three years ago.**

 _Owen stood in his bungalow. He didn't exactly have any clothes that could be defined as nice. He had clothes that he could work in in the middle of the woods. He wasn't going to train raptors in khakis. He pulled a pair of board shorts from his drawer. They were bright red. He pulled on a white shirt, and opened his junk drawer. He dug through for the tiny bottle of cologne he knew he had brought when he moved here._

 _He didn't use it often. He could think of three, maybe four times he had worn cologne since he had moved. Again, what was the purpose of wearing it while working with raptors in the middle of the woods? Besides, raptors probably didn't like the smell of cologne. He dug the bottle out, and spray a little on himself. If he couldn't look nice, he wanted to at least smell nice._

 _He walked through the bungalow towards the door. There sat his key hook. There were two sets of keys. The keys to his jeep, and the keys to his motorcycle. He thought it would look sexy if he showed up on his motorcycle, so that's what he chose._

 _He revved the engine and started off into the jungle towards Claire's house. She got a tiny house on the island while Owen was stuck with a bungalow and a trailer. She was a higher ranking employee, much high actually, but he didn't mind it. He enjoyed the tight spaces. The only thing he missed was air conditioning._

 _He pulled up in front of Claire house, which wasn't much larger than his bungalow. He got off the bike. He plucked a flower from the ground and held it in his hand. He walked to her front door, and knocked._

 _He heard the sound of heels approaching the door. He began to feel the butterflies in his stomach. He took a breath as she opened the door. She stood there in her heels, along with a white skirt, and blue, lacy top. She looked very shocked at his outfit._

" _You look like a lifeguard," she said. She instantly regretted it, but then she thought about it. Did she really regret it? No, it was his fault for dressing like a lifeguard._

" _Uh…" Owen said, lost for words. Then he extended his hand holding the flower, "this is for you,"_

" _Thank you," she forced a smile. She knew that this from her flower garden. She stepped back into the house to put it in some water. This first two minutes hadn't gone so well, but if the rest of the night did, she would want the flower. On her way out the door she grabbed the itinerary._

" _What's that?" Owen asked as she closed the door._

" _Itinerary," Claire responded._

" _Itinerary?" Owen asked, confused, "for a night out?"_

" _Mmhhmm," Claire replied, like it was nothing out of the ordinary. She walked down the path and stopped when she saw the motorcycle, "is that yours?"_

" _Yup," Owen said, climbing on. Claire tried not to show her fear and annoyance as she climbed onto the back. Owen started the bike and they sped off._

 _Owen didn't understand the idea itinerary at all. He had never followed an itinerary in all of his life. They were going to a small, Costa Rican town, there wasn't all that much to do. The only thing that was ever set on one of Owen's dates was that by the end of the night they were in his bungalow. He didn't understand it, but he was open it. He had been crushing on her for the past two years, he wasn't going to let it all go to waste because of a piece of paper._

 _They arrived at the helicopter platform five minutes later. Owen was going to have the helicopter take them to the mainland so they wouldn't have to take the boat with everyone else, so they could have time alone with each other._

 _Claire was relieved to get off that bike. It was a death trap. When they were little her mother had told both her and her sister to never ride a motorcycle, especially with a boy. Claire didn't care now. She was actually glad she did it. She was glad she defied her parents._

 _Owen extended a hand. She took it, and he led her to the platform where the helicopter waited. Owen helped her into the copter before getting in himself. She couldn't ignore the fact that he was quite the gentleman. She did like that quality in him._

" _Can I look at that?" Owen asked after his headset was on. Claire nodded and handed him the paper. He unfolded the sheet and looked down at it. They were going to dinner, then to a bar, then for a walk on the beach before the helicopter would pick them up again. Then they would go back to their 'respective homes'. Owen was grateful that there was a bar there, but was determined the change 'return to respective homes'._

 _Claire knew what he was thinking, and she was absolutely correct. She did not sleep with people on the first date, that's just how she was. They had to earn that, she didn't throw it around all willy nilly. Claire could tell that Owen normally went out with women like that by the change of expression on his face when he read the last line on the paper. He looked at her._

" _I'm determined to change that," Owen said, pointing at the last line. Claire scoffed._

" _Good luck," she said, "I don't have sex on the first date,"_

" _Ten bucks I can change your mind," Owen said. Claire glared at him but gave him a small smile. She admired him. He intrigued her, but she didn't know if she liked it or not._

 _There dinner was nice. Everything had went well. They got to know each other a little better, but not much. They mostly talked about the specifics of what they did in the park. Owen explained to Claire how he had trained the raptors since they were little. He explained to her what a magical moment their birth had been. He was the first thing that they saw. Blue had even wandered in his direction a little._

 _Claire did very little talking. There was only one thing that really interesting happening in her position at the moment. They had just given the go ahead to create the first modified, hybrid dinosaur, and that was highly classified. The only interesting thing Claire had to offer was that they were thinking about redesigning the pathways above the raptor paddock to make it so Owen could move overtop of anywhere in the paddock, not just a path across the middle._

 _They moved to the bar later than expected, so they didn't do much talking on the way there. They just moved really fast across and down the street. That's when it started to go downhill._

" _Tequila," Owen said, holding up two fingers when they arrived at the bar. The bartender nodded._

" _I'm on a diet," Claire said._

" _Okay," Owen said. The bartender returned moments later with their drinks._

" _I can't drink tequila," Claire said, she was getting annoyed now. He wa becoming a little ignorant._

" _Okay," Owen said again. He then looked at her expectantly._

" _I'll have water," she said._

" _Awww come on! You can't cheat a day?" Owen asked._

" _I already cheated at dinner," Claire said, and asked the bartender for a glass of water. Owen took both shots the alcohol then breathed. The bartender brought her her water._

" _Beer, whatever you've got on tap," Owen said._

" _Don't you think that's enough?" Claire asked, gesturing to the two empty shot glasses._

" _I know my limits," he responded as the bartender returned, and Owen began to drink._

 _He didn't know his limits. He just kept drinking and almost forgot she was there, since she stood there silently. As they prepared to leave, Owen realized he didn't have enough money to pay the bill. Claire signed, and paid the rest of the amount._

" _Why don't we just go home?" Claire suggested._

" _No, no, no, we can't," Owen said, taking the itinerary, "see it says there, walk on the beach,"_

" _I don't know. I think we should go back. You're drunk, Owen," Claire said. She was annoyed now. She wanted to go home. She was not going to go on a second date, she had determined that already._

" _Please? Please? PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE?" Owen asked, resting his head on her shoulder and smiling goofily._

" _Fine," Claire sighed and began walking towards the beach, leaving Owen behind. He started running after her. He stumbled slightly but caught up to her once she was waiting on the beach with her heels in her hands. She looked annoyed._

" _Come on Owen," Claire said. She was annoyed and it showed very much in her voice._

" _You look grumpy," Owen said, "let me change that,"_

 _He leaned in to kiss her. She smelled the alcohol in his breath and stepped back. He placed a hand on his chest to keep him from coming closer._

" _Owen, no," Claire said, "I don't think this was a good idea. Lets just go home,"_

 _Claire put her heels back on and walked back towards the ferry dock and helicopter platform. She was ahead of Owen, and got in the helicopter before he did. The ferries ran twenty four hours, so she told the pilot to go. He could find his own way back._

 _-x-_

 _Owen woke up that next morning rather confused. Not only did he have a headache, but the space next to him in the bed was empty. Then he remembered what had happened the night before. She had been a total bitch to him, and left him on the mainland. One thing was for certain, he would not be asking her out again._

* * *

"I…" Claire couldn't bring herself to say it. Owen exhaled loudly, clearly annoyed and hurt. She had thought of the complete failure of their first date, and let that guide her decision. She was convinced that that their lives together would always be like their first date. But she didn't care, she acted on impulse.

"I love you, Owen," she said. She had said it. It may not be true, but she had said it. She didn't say it often, and she didn't through the words around, but it was true. Claire really did love Owen, no matter what doubts were put in her mind. Yes, he had his downfalls and quirks, but no matter how much those things pushed her away from him she knew one thing. She was meant to be with him because she was in love with him.

 **I know there's no Gray and Zach in this one, but I needed to answer this question. This is what I had the inspiration to write. Plus I wanted to write their first date. Also, I won't be able to post tomorrow either. The next chapter should be up Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, depending on what we do this weekend.**

 **-Croc9400**


	12. Chapter 12: Try to Remember

**Chapter 12**

 **Happy Fourth of July to all my American readers. I am American so it feels almost obligatory to put this at the beginning of the chapter. And for all my non-American readers, happy fourth of July to you as well even though it has no significance :)**

Gray had fallen asleep a few hours after Owen had called. The boys sat in the hospital bed together, just holding each other. The comfort they could provide each other was enough to keep their nightmares at bay, and keep them calm, but it wasn't enough to make them stop.

Zach sat on the bed. He was the only one in the room that was awake. His mother had come back in the room, and fallen asleep on the chair. Zach was left to think. He couldn't recall actually experiencing anything Gray had told him about. All he could remember was the fear that it had instilled within him. He remembered the dreams he had in his coma, but he didn't remember that stuff actually happening to him. He remembered them just as dreams.

Zach sat there, racking his brain for some memory; any memory, of life before this. He couldn't remember anything. It was like the first moments of his life happened when he opened his eyes earlier that day. If that was the case, that was a bad first few minutes. The strange thing was, he still had all his knowledge on things, but no memories.

One thing he didn't know, that he really thought he should, was this Owen Grady. He vaguely remembered Claire, just like he vaguely remembered Gray, but he didn't remember Owen at all. All he knew if that Owen made him feel at ease, and that Owen had saved him in all his nightmares. He slid out of the bed, making sure his brother's head fell onto the pillow. He began searching through his brother's backpack until he found his laptop.

Zach sat against the wall and opened the laptop. It was rather cold outside the layers of warm blankets on the hospital bed. He opened the laptop and connected to the hospital's wifi. He was so glad he still had his knowledge. He typed Owen's name into the search bar. Articles upon articles popped up, along with a large collection of videos and pictures. Then a thought struck him. He was at the center of this Jurassic World incident, maybe he could find something online that would jog his memory.

He typed his own name into the search bar. The first thing that came up was a video. It was security footage from Jurassic World. He opened it, and watched it. There was video of the pteranodon attack, and then one at night. It started with Owen riding a motorcycle surrounded by the raptors. then shifted to the main street. Him, Gray, and Owen had been cornered by the I-Rex, but then Claire arrived, leading the T-Rex behind her.

"That was the scariest moment for me,"

Zach looked up. Gray was standing there, looking over his older brother's shoulder.

"It was?" Zach asked. Gray nodded, sitting next to his brother. He let his head fall onto the older boy's shoulder.

"Yeah. Owen called it the moment of true terror. See when the I-Rex is tugging my shorts there? That's when I was the most terrified. So when my pants get tugged on, I see that moment again, and I break down,"

"Oh," Zach said, pausing the video, "what about...what about me? What's my moment of true terror?"

"You know the dream you have when you and I jump into the water?" Gray asked. Zach nodded. If he was going to die, it was going to be in that dream, "well, when the two of us were underwater, that was your moment of true terror. You didn't know if we were going to drown or get eaten,"

Zach thought for a moment. He replayed the dream over in his head. That moment did have a certain familiarness to it. It was different from the others.

"What about Aunt Claire and... _Owen_?" Zach asked.

"Why do you say Owen like that?" Gray asked.

"Umm," Zach debated telling his younger brother, but honestly, what would it do? The boy was going to have to become his support, so he had to know, "you and Aunt Claire, you have a certain familiarness about you. Like I know you, but I don't remember you. Owen is different. I recognize him, but he doesn't have that familiarness,"

"But he calms you down," Gray said.

"I know. That I can't explain. It's like I don't understand why just when he's around I'm calm," Zach said. The poor boy was so confused. He was confused enough it may break him, maybe even more than Gray.

Gray had to put himself back together very fast. Gray recalled Owen saying to Claire, when talking about him, saying that it takes ten times longer to put yourself back together after you fall apart. Gray absolutely believed that was true. He hadn't completely fell apart, but he wasn't perfect either. Right now, he was putting on a show. He needed to be the strong one for a change. He had to make it seem like he had put himself back together but in reality he was just falling apart even more.

"So Aunt Claire and Owen's?" Zach asked.

"Right," Gray said, "so Aunt Claire, she can't wear high heels. They give her memories from any moment on the island,"

"Oh," Zach said, "that isn't great,"

"It's not. As for Owen," Gray thought for a moment for a way to explain this, then he thought the internet would explain it better, "hand me the laptop,"

Zach picked up the laptop, which he had before placed on the other side of him, and handed it to his younger brother. Gray quickly typed 'Owen Grady Indominus Rex'. A whole list of articles came up, but he was only looking for videos. He found the security footage from around the I-Rex inclosure. He clicked on it, and handed it to Zach.

The older boy watched in horror as two men were eaten by the creature, and in terror as Owen laid under the truck. Zach looked at his younger brother in shock after the video had ended.

"Owen was laying down under the truck," Gray said, "he can't lay down without seeing that moment,"

"And I can't touch water without seeing my moment, or in my case, just feeling the fear," Zach said.

"It wasn't as bad before this incident. You could drink it before, as long as it didn't touch your skin," Gray said, "now can't even let it go through a needle into your skin,"

"I'm going to die," Zach said, "I'm not going to be able to drink, I'm gonna die. I'm so sorry, Gray,"

"You're not going to die, Zach. I promise," Gray said. He thought it best not to mention the fact that the doctors drugged him to get him to sleep and then put the fluids into his body that way. Gray leaned his head back onto his brother's shoulder and closed his eyes. He felt rather at ease given the circumstances.

 **Sorry this is all I have. This is all I could come up with. I'm sorry. With the layers of warm blankets on the hospital bed, that's no joke. I had surgery recently and every five minutes a nurse would be like "do you want another warm blanket?" me: "no I'm good," nurse:** _ ***puts warm blanket on me anyway***_ **. So I wake up from surgery with like ten blankets on top of me. So yeah, that's true.**

 **-Croc9400**


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